BBC Pursues Subpoenas of Trump’s Family Amid Defamation Lawsuit
In a bid to defend against a $10 billion claim from former U.S. president Donald Trump, the BBC’s legal team is attempting to subpoena members of his family—Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner—for documents and sworn testimony.
Court filings disclose that the BBC’s representatives tried in May to serve subpoenas directly at the Trump family’s residences. The attempts were blocked by police checkpoints and even the Secret Service, prompting the broadcaster to seek alternative service methods such as email and certified mail.
The lawsuit roots itself in a 2024 Panorama episode that pieced together parts of a 2021 speech, allegedly creating a “mistaken impression” that Trump had called for violent action during the Capitol riots. While the BBC has issued an apology over this editing error, it denies that the episode meets the legal definition of defamation and has asked the court to dismiss the suit.
Trump’s legal team pointed to evidence from a U.S. congressional inquiry suggesting that the documentary was not available to American audiences, citing no distribution on BBC’s U.S. platforms such as BritBox or BBC.com. Although the former president withdrew claims against the BBC’s commercial arm, he remains engaged in the main defamation case and has requested this and other financial documents from the broadcaster.
If the case proceeds, a trial is scheduled for February 2027, potentially marking a significant test of cross‑border media accountability and the interplay between UK broadcasting and U.S. defamation law.
