A federal judge in Florida is reviewing a motion filed by former President Donald Trump on Friday, seeking to prevent the BBC from subpoenaing Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner as part of the U.K. broadcaster’s defense in Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the network.
The motion, submitted to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami, argues that the BBC’s request constitutes an improper attempt to gain access to the Trump family members, who are protected by U.S. Secret Service agents. Trump’s legal team called the BBC’s move a “politically-charged discovery campaign” and requested the court dismiss the broadcaster’s subpoena efforts.
The BBC initially filed its motion on August 14, asserting that the three family members possess relevant records and knowledge tied to Trump’s defamation claims. The broadcaster has argued that its inability to serve subpoenas—due to Secret Service restrictions—justifies judicial intervention to compel compliance. A process server attempted to deliver subpoenas to Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their residence in May but was blocked by Secret Service agents, who stated they were not authorized to accept the documents. A subsequent attempt to serve Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in New York also failed.
Judge Kuntz, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, inherited the case from another judge less than a week prior to the filing. The previous judge had set a February trial date for the defamation lawsuit. The court has not yet issued a ruling on the dispute, and no immediate timeline for a decision has been provided.
The BBC’s defamation lawsuit stems from a report aired in April 2023, which Trump alleges contained false and damaging claims. The network has maintained that its reporting was accurate and protected under U.K. and international press freedom laws. The legal battle centers on whether the BBC’s subpoenas are necessary for its defense or constitute an overreach that infringes on the family’s protected status under Secret Service protocols.