President Trump accuses BBC of harassing his family in defamation battle

Trump’s legal team has accused the BBC of harassing his family after the broadcaster sought court approval to subpoena Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in connection with the president’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit. The BBC argues that the three have relevant knowledge and records concerning Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech

Lawyers representing the broadcaster have asked a Florida court for permission to subpoena Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, after reportedly being unable to serve them with the legal documents because of their Secret Service protection.

The US President is in a £7.4billion legal battle with the BBC over a 2024 Panorama documentary which examined the events leading up to the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.

Footage of a speech Donald Trump delivered before the Capitol riot was edited by the programme, combining remarks from different parts of his address in a way that made it appear he had urged supporters to storm the US Capitol after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. The BBC later acknowledged that the editing created a misleading impression of his remarks.

A spokesman for Mr Trump’s legal team accused the Corporation of abusing the legal process.

They said: ‘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. The BBC is simply trying to distract away from their own obvious liability.’

The BBC denied it had defamed the President. Its lawyers argue that his family ‘without question have personal knowledge’ of events surrounding the January 6 riots and could shed light on his intentions. The case will go to trial in February 2027.