The BBC has asked a U.S. court to subpoena Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for documents and testimony as it defends against President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit over a Panorama episode that edited together sections of his 6 January 2021 speech. Court filings say BBC lawyers attempted in May to serve subpoenas but were unsuccessful; a representative was refused entry at a Florida police checkpoint and told the Secret Service could not accept subpoenas when attempting to serve Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. The filing cites evidence gathered by a U.S. congressional committee that Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump were present when their father revised and delivered the speech and that Jared Kushner drafted a proposed statement that would have condemned the use of violence. The BBC asks the court to allow service by email and certified mail after failed in-person attempts; the filing notes failure to comply with a subpoena carries a penalty. The suit, filed in Florida in December, seeks $10 billion and accuses the BBC of "intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring" the speech; the BBC has apologised for an editing error but denies defamation and has asked for dismissal. Trump recently dropped BBC Studios from the suit, and his lawyers admitted they had no evidence the programme was available on the BBC’s U.S. platforms, a point the BBC has used in its defence. A judge has already granted Trump’s request to delay handing financial records to the BBC, and the court will now consider whether to permit the subpoenas and alternative service methods.
