Trump accuses BBC of 'harassing' his family after broadcaster seeks to subpoena his children

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump lashed out at the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of harassing his family.

The anger came after BBC lawyers asked a court for permission to serve legal orders on Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. They want Trump’s children and son-in-law to testify in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit over a Panorama documentary's coverage of his January 6, 2021, speech.

BBC says Trump's children have personal knowledge of events

A spokesman for Trump's legal team told The Telegraph, "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."

On Friday, August 14, the BBC’s lawyers told a Florida court that Trump’s children and his son-in-law definitely know what happened around Jan 6, as they were close to the action and can speak to what Trump meant when he gave that speech.

Since the broadcaster hasn’t managed to deliver subpoenas to them in person, they’re now asking the court for another way to get these documents to the three.

Court filings reveal that the US Secret Service has blocked outsiders from reaching the president’s immediate family, so serving them legal documents the usual way isn’t possible.

Trump hasn’t accepted the subpoenas for his children or son-in-law, and he hasn’t told the Secret Service to allow service either. Now, the BBC wants the Florida court to approve a different way to deliver these documents.

Lawsuit stems from spliced speech footage in Panorama documentary

In November, The Telegraph revealed that separate parts of Trump's speech on Jan 6 had been spliced together for the Panorama documentary, making it appear as though he encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol after he lost the election.

In fact, he said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. 

The BBC apologized to Trump last year for an "error in judgment" over the documentary. Subsequently, the broadcaster removed the documentary from all platforms but denied it had defamed the president.

Trump sued the corporation for $10 billion, claiming that his "brand, properties, and business" were damaged by the documentary.

The allegations about the editing of the documentary led Tim Davie, the then-BBC director-general, to announce his resignation.

In suing the BBC, Trump originally alleged the Panorama episode, broadcast shortly before the 2024 presidential election he won, had caused him reputational and financial injury. He later narrowed the complaint to reputational harm.

In any case, a judge on Tuesday ruled that Trump could now amend his lawsuit, opening the door for him to expand his case. A trial date has been set for February 2027 in Florida.