BBC gets court approval to serve Trump’s children in $10B defamation lawsuit

WASHINGTON, DC: The BBC has received a judge's approval to serve legal papers on Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner as it prepares to defend itself against President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit.

The dispute stems from a ‘Panorama’ documentary that edited two parts of Trump's 2021 speech together, prompting claims that it falsely suggested he encouraged the Capitol riot.

BBC wins approval to serve Trump family subpoenas

The BBC believes Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, may have information that could help its defence in the high-profile legal battle with the US president.

According to court documents cited in reports, the broadcaster had tried to serve subpoenas on Ivanka and Kushner at their home in Miami in May.

However, Secret Service officers guarding the property prevented the attempt. The BBC also tried to serve papers on Don Jr at Trump Tower in New York but was unsuccessful.

The broadcaster has now been allowed to serve the legal papers through email and registered post instead of delivering them in person, which is usually required.

According to Politico, the judge found "no compelling reason" to reject the BBC's request. The BBC believes the three could have "personal knowledge of possession of discoverable information" relevant to the case.

The request does not establish that any of them has done anything wrong. The broadcaster is seeking information it believes could help it respond to Trump's claims.

Why Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion

Trump filed the defamation lawsuit after a ‘Panorama’ documentary edited together two separate sections of a speech he delivered in 2021.

The controversy came to light after The Telegraph revealed that the documentary had joined parts of the speech that were nearly an hour apart.

Trump claimed the editing created the impression that he had encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol and "fight like hell" before the January 6 riot.

The BBC has already apologised to Trump for misleading audiences through the editing, but it continues to deny that it defamed him. Its lawyers have argued that the ‘Panorama’ episode was not broadcast in the United States and was not available online there.

The broadcaster's defence is expected to focus on its response to Trump's claims, including the circumstances surrounding the documentary and its distribution.

The lawsuit seeks $10 billion in damages, making it a major legal challenge for the broadcaster.

The case has also raised questions about how news organisations edit political speeches and the consequences when the final version gives audiences a different impression of what was said.

BBC seeks Trump family evidence in defamation case

The BBC's interest in Trump's family members is linked to their reported presence around the time he was revising the speech.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were advisers to the president when he delivered the speech in question.

The BBC has also said that Ivanka and Don Jr were present in the Oval Office at the White House when Trump was revising the speech.

The broadcaster believes their potential knowledge of the speech could be relevant to its defence. 

However, the court's approval to serve legal papers does not mean the three have already provided evidence or that their involvement will determine the outcome of the case.

Trump's legal team has pushed back against the BBC's attempt to obtain information from his family.

His lawyers have described the broadcaster's efforts to serve subpoenas as "politically driven", challenging the reasoning behind the request.

The dispute now places the BBC's effort to gather evidence alongside Trump's objections to how the broadcaster is pursuing its defence. Whether the requested information will prove useful remains to be seen as the case moves forward.

The fallout from the edited speech has already had consequences for the BBC's leadership.

The Telegraph's disclosure of the documentary's editing led to the resignations of Tim Davie as director general and Deborah Turness as head of news.