President Donald Trump has asked a federal judge to reject the BBC’s bid for court help in obtaining testimony and documents from three family members as part of his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster.
Trump’s personal lawyers argued in a Friday court filing that the BBC is pursuing “politically-driven leverage” by seeking to subpoena daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and son Donald Trump Jr. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami, who was nominated by Trump and inherited the case less than a week ago, has not yet ruled.
The previous judge set a February trial date; filings did not explain the reassignment.
“The relief that the BBC’s Motion seeks cannot be segregated from the politically charged discovery campaign that it is based on, and which has already been ruled as improperly overbroad by this Court,” the lawyers wrote.
Trump sued in December, accusing the BBC of deceptively editing his Jan. 6, 2021, speech near the White House—when supporters attacked the Capitol—to misrepresent his words by splicing separate portions. The suit claims the documentary aired a week before the 2024 election in “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the outcome against him.
The BBC has apologized for the misleading edit but denies defaming Trump.