$10-billion defamation suit: BBC seeks US court’s help in getting Trump family’s testimony

The BBC asked a US court for help in getting documents and testimony from members of US President Donald Trump’s family in connection with his $10-billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, a court document has shown.

Lawyers for the BBC argued that Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr had “personal knowledge” and likely had records relevant to elements of Trump’s claims against the broadcaster, according to a filing Friday in a federal court in Florida. The broadcaster has been unable to serve subpoenas because the three have Secret Service protection and other security personnel around them, the filing says. Trump filed the lawsuit in December seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing it of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.

The allegations centre on the way a 2024 documentary edited a speech Trump gave on January 6, 2021, before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington. The lawsuit accuses the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech” to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said”. It added 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 said it had not defamed him.