BBC seeks Ivanka, Kushner, Trump Jr testimony in Trump defamation suit

London,UPDATED: Aug 16, 2026 21:28 IST

The BBC has asked a US court to help it obtain documents and testimony from Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr in President Donald Trump's USD 10-billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster. A filing in federal court in Florida said the three family members have "personal knowledge" and are likely to hold records relevant to parts of Trump's case.

The broadcaster said it has been unable to serve subpoenas on them because they are protected by the Secret Service and other security personnel. It has asked the court to allow the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail, and a judge has given Trump's legal team until Friday to respond.

Trump filed the lawsuit in December, seeking USD 10 billion in damages from the BBC and accusing it of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices. The case centres on the way a 2024 documentary edited a speech Trump gave on 6 January 2021 before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington.

According to the lawsuit, the BBC was accused of "splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump's speech" to "intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said". It also alleged that the editing was "a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence" the 2024 US presidential election.

The BBC has apologised to Trump for the misleading edit, but has said it did not defame him. In its latest filing, the broadcaster said Trump's family members had knowledge of issues relevant to his argument "that it would be materially false to imply that he incited violence" on 6 January 2021.

The filing said Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump were both in the Oval Office while Trump was still revising his speech. It added that Donald Trump Jr spoke directly with his father after violence had broken out at the Capitol. The BBC also said it had asked Trump to accept the subpoenas on behalf of his daughter and son-in-law, or to direct the Secret Service to allow them to be served, but that he refused.

Trump's legal team said "the BBC is simply trying to distract away from their own obvious liability". It added: "The BBC intentionally defamed President Donald J. Trump, and now the BBC is seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process."

A trial in the case has been provisionally set for February. Last week, US District Judge Roy Altman in Florida temporarily paused an order requiring Trump to provide details of his business empire's financial performance while he considers an amended complaint from Trump that would narrow his claim that he suffered damage to both business and reputation.

The case now turns on the BBC's request to serve subpoenas on Trump's family members as the defamation lawsuit over the edited documentary moves towards a provisional February trial, with a separate dispute also continuing over disclosure of Trump's business finances.

With PTI Inputs

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