The broadcaster has moved to compel testimony and documents from three members of Donald Trump's family as part of its defence against the US president's $10bn (£7.4bn) defamation lawsuit over a Panorama documentary. According to court filings, lawyers acting for the broadcaster attempted in May to serve subpoenas on Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, but faced repeated obstacles in delivering them.
The lawsuit centres on a Panorama episode that spliced together two separate portions of a speech Trump delivered before the January 6 Capitol riots in 2021. The broadcaster has already issued an apology over the editing but maintains the mistake does not amount to defamation.
Why does the broadcaster want testimony from Trump's relatives?
Lawyers for the broadcaster contend that Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner each hold direct knowledge of what Trump intended when he gave the speech, making their accounts and any related paperwork relevant to disputing the defamation claim. Citing material previously compiled by a congressional inquiry, the filing states that Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present as their father amended and then delivered his remarks. It further claims Jared Kushner had drafted a statement urging against violence that was proposed to the president at the time.
According to a report from a national news outlet, the broadcaster is pursuing all three family members as witnesses on the basis that they can speak to the preparation behind the January 6 address.
Why has serving the subpoenas proved difficult?
The filing describes several failed attempts to hand-deliver the legal documents, prompting a request that the court instead permit service by email and certified mail. At one point, a process server tried to reach Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at their Florida residence but was turned away at a police checkpoint, and the Secret Service subsequently informed the server that the agency was not able to accept the paperwork on their behalf.
A separate attempt to serve Donald Trump Jr. took place at Trump Tower in New York, where a concierge said the staff member who typically handles such documents might be away at lunch. When the server returned two days later, they were informed that the building's legal department was not present that day.
Representatives for Trump's legal team did not respond when approached for comment, and the broadcaster's press office declined to comment on the matter.
What is the underlying legal dispute about?
Trump filed suit against the broadcaster and two of its subsidiaries, BBC Studios Productions and BBC Studios Distribution, in Florida in December, alleging the Panorama episode had deliberately manipulated his January 6, 2021 speech. His complaint accuses the broadcaster of having intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctored the footage.
The broadcaster has acknowledged that the edit created a mistaken impression that Trump had issued a direct call for violent action, but it is now asking the court to throw out the case entirely, arguing the documentary fails to meet the legal threshold for defamation and was never distributed on any US platform.
That jurisdictional argument gained ground last month when Trump's own lawyers conceded they had no evidence to back their earlier claim that the programme had been accessible in the United States through the BritBox streaming service, BBC.com, BBC Select or any American broadcast partner. Separately, according to the broadcaster's own coverage, its lawyers have argued the Florida court lacks personal jurisdiction because the programme was broadcast in the UK and made available only through its domestic service, not in the US.
Adding a further wrinkle to that dispute, one entertainment industry report states that the documentary was streamed roughly 570,000 times on the domestic platform, with around 285 of those streams originating from IP addresses that could potentially have been located in the United States.
Trump has also agreed to withdraw the broadcaster's commercial arm, BBC Studios, from the suit after the corporation argued that division had no role in producing or creating the documentary in question.
What is happening with Trump's financial records?
Earlier this month, the presiding judge granted Trump a delay in handing over financial documents that the broadcaster's legal team had requested. That request stems from Trump's argument that the documentary caused damage to his business interests, and his own lawyers have argued that disclosing the records would cause him irreparable harm.
According to a financial news outlet's report, Trump's legal team has separately been challenging the scope of the broadcaster's financial discovery requests, and the judge's earlier order compelling disclosure of those records has been temporarily paused pending further proceedings.
What happens next?
Should the case proceed rather than being dismissed or settled, a trial date has been scheduled for February 2027 in Florida, a timeline confirmed separately by a British newspaper's report. In the meantime, the dispute over financial disclosure remains unresolved, with the paused order on Trump's records still a live issue for the court to address.
Key Facts
- The broadcaster attempted in May 2026 to subpoena Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner over the president's speech before the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
- Multiple in-person service attempts failed, including one blocked by a police checkpoint and Secret Service refusal at a Florida residence.
- Trump's lawyers have conceded they lack evidence the Panorama episode aired on US platforms including BritBox, BBC.com or BBC Select.
- A report states the documentary drew about 570,000 streams on the domestic service, with roughly 285 from potentially US-based IP addresses.
- A trial has been scheduled for February 2027 in Florida, should the case advance that far.
