LONDON (AP) — The BBC has asked a U.S. court for help in obtaining documents and testimony from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s family in connection with its $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, according to a court document. BBC lawyers argued that Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and Donald Trump, Jr. have “personal knowledge” and likely have records relevant to elements of Trump’s claims against the broadcaster, according to a document filed Friday in federal court in Florida. The station has not been able to serve subpoenas because the three have protection from Secret Service and other security personnel around them, the document says. Trump filed the lawsuit in December seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing it of defamation and unfair and deceptive trade practices. The allegations center on the way a 2024 documentary edited a speech Trump gave on Jan. 6, 2021, before rioters attacked the Capitol in Washington. The lawsuit accuses the BBC of “joining together two completely separate parts of President Trump’s speech” to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.” He added that the edit was “a blatant attempt to interfere and influence” the 2024 US presidential election. The BBC apologized to Trump for the misleading edit, but said it had not defamed him. The latest court filing said that Trump’s relatives were aware of matters that were relevant to Trump’s argument “that it would be materially false to imply that he incited violence” on January 6, 2021. It cited that Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present in the Oval Office when Trump was still reviewing his speech, and added that Donald Trump, Jr. spoke directly to his father after violence broke out at the Capitol. The document says the BBC asked Trump to accept the subpoenas on behalf of his daughter and son-in-law or to order the Secret Service to allow the subpoenas to be delivered, but he refused. The broadcaster asked the court to allow subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail. The judge has given Trump’s legal team until Friday to respond to the BBC’s request. Trump’s legal team said “the BBC is simply trying to distract from its own obvious responsibility.” Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. “The BBC intentionally defamed President Donald J. Trump, and now the BBC seeks to harass him, his family, and his supporters by abusing the impeachment process,” according to the team. A trial has been tentatively set for February in the case. Last week, a federal judge in Florida granted Trump a temporary stay of an order requiring him to provide details of the financial performance of his business empire as part of the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Roy Altman agreed to stay that order while he considers an amended complaint from Trump that would limit his claim that he suffered harm to both his business and reputation.___Associated Press writers Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Georgia, and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.
