President Donald Trump is urging a federal judge to dismiss the BBC’s request for assistance in obtaining testimony and documents from three of his family members. This request relates to his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. Trump’s personal lawyers claim the BBC is seeking ‘politically-driven leverage’ by issuing subpoenas to Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr.
The legal proceedings are in the hands of U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami. Judge Kuntz, who took over the case from another judge less than a week ago, has yet to make a ruling on the issue. The previous judge had scheduled a trial for February, though the reasons for the case reassignment remain unspecified in court documents.
In May, a process server for the BBC attempted to deliver subpoenas to Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their home but was stopped by Secret Service agents, according to Trump’s attorneys. A similar attempt occurred at Trump Tower in New York to serve Donald Trump Jr., also without success. Last week, the broadcaster sought court permission to serve subpoenas by certified mail instead of in person.
Trump’s lawsuit, filed in December, claims the BBC edited parts of his January 6, 2021, speech to mislead viewers during a documentary aired just before the 2024 presidential election. Trump alleges this was to affect the election outcome negatively. His lawyers argue the BBC’s motions are part of an improperly broad and politically charged discovery campaign.
The BBC admitted to making a misleading edit but denies Trump’s defamation allegations.
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