Trump tries to block the BBC's subpoenas against his family

Donald Trump 's lawyers on Friday asked a federal court to reject the BBC's request to compel Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to testify in a $10 billion defamation lawsuit.

The legal battle between Donald Trump and the BBC has taken a new turn. On Friday, the US president's lawyers filed a motion in South Florida federal court to oppose subpoenas that the British broadcaster is seeking to serve on three members of his inner circle: his eldest son Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka Trump, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The case dates back to last December, when Trump announced he was suing the BBC over an episode of its Panorama documentary series, which focused on his campaign for a second term. The dispute centers specifically on the editing of excerpts from his speech on January 6, 2021, the day the presidential election results were certified. Two sentences spoken nearly fifty-five minutes apart were allegedly strung together to form a continuous quote: "After this, we're going down, and I'll be there with you, we're going down," and "And we fight. We fight like hell."

The BBC apologized for the edit and removed the episode from its platforms. Trump nevertheless maintained his defamation lawsuit, which the broadcaster disputes and intends to fight in court.

To build its defense, the BBC aims to establish the president's thoughts and actions that day, relying on witnesses close to him. Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present during the speech and spoke with their father and his inner circle as the violence erupted at the Capitol. Text messages released by the US Congress show that Trump Jr. urged his father's chief of staff to "condemn this shit." As for Kushner, who was not at the White House that day, the BBC argues that he drafted a proposed statement to Trump condemning the use of violence, after consulting with congressional officials.

A practical problem arose: the BBC was unable to deliver the subpoenas. In May, Secret Service agents refused to accept the documents at Ivanka Trump and Kushner's home, stating they were not authorized to do so. The same problem occurred at Trump Tower in New York, where Trump Jr. could not be reached. The broadcaster therefore sought court permission to use registered mail.

Trump's lawyers rejected the move, calling it a "politically charged campaign" and "cynical," likening the BBC's efforts to an "unrestricted reinvestigation" of the January 6 events. They also invoked executive privilege to cover the exchanges involving Ivanka Trump and Kushner, both of whom served as advisors to the president.

This argument relies on a memo published this month by the Justice Department, which states that executive privilege protects communications even with private advisors working outside the executive branch. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California denounced the memo as "a partisan measure to shield the president and his corrupt activities from congressional subpoenas should the majority shift," in a statement released on August 11.

The federal court in South Florida has not yet ruled on the BBC's request. Meanwhile, the broadcaster has requested the outright dismissal of the entire case, arguing that Trump is trying to stifle freedom of expression.