The BBC is attempting to draw three members of President Donald Trump’s family into the escalating legal battle over its controversial editing of his January 6 speech.
In a Friday court filing, attorneys for the broadcaster asked a federal judge to authorize alternative methods for serving subpoenas on Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
The BBC argues that all three possess information and potentially relevant records connected to Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit.
Why the BBC Wants Trump’s Family
Trump’s lawsuit centers on the way the BBC presented the speech he delivered near the White House on January 6, 2021, before protesters breached the U.S. Capitol.
The broadcaster says it is entitled to investigate Trump’s intentions when he delivered the speech, how his audience could reasonably have interpreted his remarks and whether the documentary caused the extensive reputational harm he alleges.
BBC attorneys contend that Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were with their father as he revised and delivered the speech.
Kushner, meanwhile, was allegedly involved in preparing a statement that Trump could issue condemning the violence at the Capitol, according to TheWrap.
The BBC also believes the three may possess information about Trump’s efforts to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the 2020 election results.
The subpoenas seek their testimony and records as third-party witnesses. Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Kushner are not accused of wrongdoing in the lawsuit.
Secret Service Complicates Subpoena Effort
The BBC says it has been unable to serve the subpoenas through conventional means.
Law enforcement officers reportedly prevented process servers from approaching Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their Florida residence. The attorneys were redirected to the Secret Service, but an agency lawyer later said the service was not authorized to accept subpoenas for the couple.
Attempts to serve Trump Jr. at his Trump Tower office and residence were similarly unsuccessful, according to The Hill.
The BBC is now asking the court for permission to deliver the subpoenas through email, certified mail or notification of the witnesses’ attorneys.
Trump’s lawyers oppose the request, according to the filing. The court has not yet decided whether the alternative service methods will be allowed.
The Edit Behind Trump’s Lawsuit
Trump filed his case in December 2025 over the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which aired in Britain shortly before the 2024 presidential election.
The program combined portions of Trump’s January 6 speech delivered nearly 55 minutes apart.
The resulting sequence made it appear that Trump moved directly from telling supporters they would walk to the Capitol to declaring that they should “fight like hell.” The documentary also omitted his instruction that supporters make their voices heard “peacefully and patriotically.”
Trump’s federal complaint alleges that the edit deliberately changed the meaning of his words and falsely portrayed him as directly calling for violence.
The president is seeking at least $5 billion for defamation and another $5 billion under Florida’s deceptive and unfair trade practices law.
The BBC acknowledged that the edit created the impression of a direct call for violent action and apologized for what it called an error of judgment. The broadcaster also announced that the documentary would not be shown again in its original form.
It nevertheless maintains that the editing mistake does not provide grounds for a defamation claim, according to Politico.
The BBC has separately challenged the Florida court’s authority to hear the case, arguing that the documentary was not officially broadcast or distributed in the United States. Trump’s complaint alleges that American viewers could access BBC programming through online and streaming services.
Discovery Battle Expands
The family subpoenas open a new front in an already contentious fight over evidence.
A federal magistrate judge previously ruled that the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust must produce financial records because Trump’s original complaint claimed damage to his brand, properties and businesses.
The July 27 discovery order limited production to records beginning in January 2023 but found that Trump’s multibillion-dollar damages demand made financial information relevant.
Trump subsequently received permission to amend his complaint so that it focuses on reputational harm rather than losses suffered by his businesses. The change could allow him to argue that the BBC is no longer entitled to examine broad portions of his financial history, although that dispute has not been fully resolved, according to Forbes.
The BBC’s latest move indicates that its defense will extend beyond explaining how the documentary was edited. Its attorneys also intend to examine Trump’s intentions, his response to the Capitol violence and the amount of reputational harm the program could have caused.
A two-week trial is currently scheduled to begin February 15, 2027, according to LBC.
The next question is whether the court will let the BBC reach into Trump’s immediate family—and how much information his children and son-in-law could ultimately be required to provide.
