London: The BBC asked a US court for help in getting documents and testimony from members of President Donald Trump’s family in connection with his $US10 billion ($14 billion) defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, a court document showed.
Lawyers for the BBC 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. The broadcaster has been unable to serve subpoenas because the three have Secret Service protection, the court filing says.
The president filed the lawsuit in December, accusing the BBC of defamation and deceptive and unfair trade practices. The allegations centre on the way a 2024 documentary edited a speech Trump gave on January 6, 2021, before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington.
The lawsuit accuses the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts” of Trump’s speech to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what [he] said” and that the editing was “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 election.
The BBC apologised to Trump for the misleading edit, but said it had not defamed him.
The latest court filing said that Trump’s family members had knowledge relevant to Trump’s argument “that it would be materially false to imply that he incited violence”. The BBC asked the court to allow the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail.
Trump’s legal team said “the BBC is seeking to harass [Donald Trump], his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process”. A trial has been provisionally set for February.
AP
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