A US judge has cleared the way for Donald Trump's children and son-in-law to be dragged into his £7.5billion defamation battle against the BBC, in a significant setback for the President.
Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka and Jared Kushner now face subpoenas demanding documents and testimony about the events surrounding the January 6 Capitol riots. BBC lawyers are to call them after Trump sued the corporation over an episode of Panorama detailing the riots.
The twist comes in a lawsuit Trump launched expecting to put the broadcaster on the defensive, after watching some of America's biggest media organisations hand over millions to settle legal disputes with him. The BBC has refused to roll over.
Judge authorises alternative service
The latest win for the BBC came on Friday, as US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett authorised the corporation to serve subpoenas on the three members of Trump's family via alternative methods after attempts to deliver them in person were thwarted by their security.
The BBC's attempts to physically serve Don Jr, Ivanka, and her husband Kushner with papers have been repeatedly blocked by the Secret Service. Now, BBC lawyers have been told they can bypass their close protection agents, delivering the legal demands by registered mail to home and business addresses and through lawyers.
An insider told The Mirror: “Whereas Trump and his team thought the BBC would roll over much as US TV bosses have, nothing could be further from the truth. They are fighting it all the way.
“Not only is he on the hook for a subpoena, but now his kids and Kushner are too. Trump has tried to amend his claims against the corporation to limit the scope of what information they can access, but after opening up a can of worms, he has failed miserably to put the top back. This case is running away from the president at an alarming rate.”
Expanding circle of witnesses
The decision opens the door to Trump's closest relatives being questioned about what they knew of his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol. The three could be required to provide documents and answer questions under oath, although the ruling authorises service of the subpoenas rather than finally resolving any objections to their scope.
Trump's lawyers had accused the BBC of using the subpoenas to gain politically-motivated leverage over the President, portraying the move as harassment rather than legitimate evidence-gathering. But Judge Lett rejected the procedural roadblock, accepting that conventional efforts to serve the documents had proved unsuccessful.
In another ruling on Friday, the judge authorised subpoenas to be served by certified mail and email on Eric Herschmann, a former Trump White House lawyer who may possess information relevant to the case. Herschmann had also proved difficult to serve despite attempts to contact him at his home and business.
Background to the dispute
Trump sued the corporation over a Panorama documentary broadcast before the 2024 presidential election that misleadingly spliced together separate portions of his speech before the Capitol attack. The edit created the impression that Trump had directly connected his call for supporters to march on the Capitol with his later declaration that they should “fight like hell”.
The BBC acknowledged the editing mistake, apologised and promised not to broadcast the programme again. But it rejected Trump's demand for compensation, maintaining that the documentary did not meet the legal threshold for defamation.
That refusal sets the corporation apart from American media giants that have already reached costly settlements with the President. Disney, which owns ABC News, agreed to pay £11.3 million towards Trump's presidential library and another £750,000 in legal costs following a dispute over comments by presenter George Stephanopoulos. Paramount agreed to pay £12 million to settle his lawsuit over CBS's editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, despite denying wrongdoing.
Trump's case against the BBC is scheduled for trial in Miami in February next year.
