Trump Seeks to Block BBC Subpoenas for Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr

US President Donald Trump has asked a federal court to reject the BBC's efforts to subpoena his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner as part of the broadcaster's defence against a $10 billion defamation lawsuit.

In a court filing on Friday, Trump's lawyers accused the BBC of pursuing a politically motivated and overly broad discovery process that extends far beyond the central issue in the case.

The lawsuit stems from a Panorama documentary examining Trump's political rise and return to the White House. The programme included coverage of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol and used excerpts from a speech Trump delivered to supporters shortly before the violence began.

Trump's legal team argues that the case centres on the BBC's decision to edit together two portions of his speech that were delivered nearly 55 minutes apart, creating the impression that they were part of a single continuous statement.

The edited sections included Trump saying, "After this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you," followed later by the words, "And we fight. We fight like hell."

The BBC subsequently apologised for the editing and removed the programme from its platforms. Trump nevertheless launched a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the broadcaster, accusing it of defamation.

The BBC has rejected the allegations and said it intends to defend itself in court. The case is being heard in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

As part of its defence, the BBC has sought testimony from people who were close to Trump during the events of January 6. The broadcaster argues that testimony from Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump could shed light on what happened inside the White House and the president's actions and intentions as the Capitol attack unfolded.

Both were present when Trump delivered his speech and were in contact with members of his inner circle as the violence developed.

Congressional records have also revealed that Donald Trump Jr urged then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to publicly condemn the violence, describing the situation as serious and calling for an immediate response.

The BBC is also seeking testimony from Kushner, who served as a senior adviser to Trump. Although he was not at the White House during the speech, the broadcaster says he played a role in efforts to persuade the president to condemn the violence.

According to the BBC, Kushner helped draft a proposed statement for Trump after discussions with congressional leaders, which would have condemned the use of violence.

The broadcaster argues that testimony from Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Kushner could help determine whether Trump's speech and conduct could reasonably be interpreted as encouraging violence, an issue central to the BBC's defence.

However, the BBC says it has struggled to serve the three family members with subpoenas because of their Secret Service protection.

Attempts to deliver subpoenas to Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their residence in May were reportedly unsuccessful after Secret Service personnel said they were not authorised to accept the documents. A similar attempt to serve Trump Jr at Trump Tower in New York also failed.

The BBC has therefore asked the court for permission to serve the subpoenas through certified mail.

Trump's lawyers have strongly objected, describing the BBC's actions as a "cynical" campaign involving what they called the harassment of the president's family, associates and former officials.

They argued that the broadcaster was effectively attempting to reopen and investigate the entire series of events surrounding January 6 rather than focusing on the specific editing at the heart of Trump's lawsuit.

Trump's legal team has also raised executive privilege, arguing that communications involving Ivanka Trump and Kushner may be protected because of their roles as presidential advisers.

The dispute comes amid a broader debate over the scope of executive privilege. Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice issued guidance asserting that presidential privilege could extend to communications involving private advisers outside the executive branch.

Critics have warned that the position could make congressional oversight and access to investigative material more difficult.

California Senator Adam Schiff has described the move as an effort to protect the president from future congressional investigations should Republicans lose control of Congress in the November midterm elections.

The Florida federal court has not yet ruled on the BBC's request to subpoena Trump's family members.

Separately, the BBC has asked the court to dismiss Trump's entire lawsuit, arguing that the case represents an attempt to restrict protected freedom of speech.