RismadarVoice Reporters, August 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump has accused the BBC of harassing members of his family after the broadcaster asked a Florida court to compel his children and son-in-law to testify in his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the corporation.
BBC lawyers are seeking permission to serve subpoenas on Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, requiring them to give evidence in the case.
Trump’s legal team has criticised the move, describing it as an abuse of the legal process.
A spokesperson for the president’s lawyers said the BBC was attempting to divert attention from what they described as the broadcaster’s liability over a Panorama documentary.
The dispute centres on a Panorama programme that used edited portions of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech. The editing allegedly combined separate sections of the speech in a way that suggested Trump had encouraged his supporters to storm the US Capitol.
Trump has maintained that he urged his supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
The BBC later apologised to Trump for what it described as an “error in judgment” and removed the documentary from its platforms. However, the broadcaster has denied that the programme defamed the president.
Trump subsequently filed a $10bn lawsuit against the BBC, initially claiming that the documentary damaged his reputation, businesses and properties. His complaint was later narrowed to focus on alleged reputational harm.
In court documents filed on Friday, BBC lawyers argued that Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Kushner could have important information about the events surrounding the January 6 speech.
The broadcaster said the three family members had personal knowledge that could help establish Trump’s intentions when he delivered the speech.
However, attempts to serve them with subpoenas in person have reportedly been unsuccessful because the US Secret Service has restricted access to members of the president’s immediate family.
The BBC has therefore asked the Florida court to approve an alternative method of serving the legal documents.
According to court filings, Trump has previously declined to accept the subpoenas on behalf of his children and son-in-law or instruct the Secret Service to facilitate access to them.
The BBC has asked the court to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit, arguing that there was insufficient evidence that the Panorama programme was created, produced or broadcast in Florida.
The broadcaster had previously argued that the Florida court lacked jurisdiction over the case.
However, data produced by the BBC’s own legal team during the disclosure process appeared to indicate that the programme may have been viewed 34 times in Florida.
The BBC disputed the reliability and legal significance of the data, arguing that it could not be considered dependable evidence of where the programme was viewed.
A judge subsequently allowed Trump to amend his lawsuit, allowing him to broaden his claims.
The case is scheduled to go to trial in Florida in February 2027.
The controversy surrounding the Panorama documentary has also had consequences within the BBC. Tim Davie, who was the broadcaster’s director-general at the time, announced his resignation following the controversy over the editing of Trump’s speech.
The BBC has declined to comment on the latest court filings.
