The BBC is asking a federal judge for permission to subpoena Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner as part of President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, arguing that all three possess firsthand knowledge about President Trump’s intentions before, during, and after his Jan. 6, 2021, speech.

In a court filing submitted Friday in federal court in Miami, attorneys for the BBC requested authorization to use alternative methods to serve subpoenas on the three family members. The broadcaster said repeated attempts to deliver the subpoenas in person have been unsuccessful because of Secret Service security protections.

“The Third Parties have personal knowledge and likely have possession, custody, or control of records relevant to multiple elements of Plaintiff’s claims against the BBC,” the broadcaster’s lawyers wrote.

President Trump filed the lawsuit in December after the BBC aired a 2024 documentary that edited together portions of his Jan. 6 speech that had originally been delivered nearly an hour apart.

According to the complaint, the edited version falsely suggested that Trump “incited” or “fomented” the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Although the BBC has acknowledged and apologized for the editing error, it maintains that it did not defame the President. The broadcaster argues that Trump’s intent in delivering the speech is directly relevant to determining whether the documentary materially misrepresented his remarks.

Friday’s filing also cited an earlier discovery ruling stating that the BBC is entitled to examine Trump’s “intention behind the speech and anything that bears on the impression his audience could have reasonably obtained in listening to the speech,” including “the extent of any resulting injury or harm.”

The broadcaster said Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present in the Oval Office while the President was still revising his speech, including around the time he unsuccessfully urged then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the 2020 election results. The filing cites testimony both previously gave to the House Jan. 6 committee.

According to the BBC, both Trump Jr. and Ivanka later accompanied the President from the White House to the Ellipse, where they “personally witnessed” him deliver the speech and observed the crowd’s reaction.

The filing further states that Ivanka Trump returned to the White House afterward and witnessed her father’s response as reports of violence at the Capitol began to emerge.

The BBC also noted that Donald Trump Jr. contacted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the riot, urging him to have the President “condemn this s**t. Asap.” The filing says Trump Jr. also later spoke directly with his father.

The broadcaster contends that Jared Kushner likewise possesses significant firsthand knowledge. According to the filing, Kushner spoke that afternoon with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who warned him “it was getting really ugly over at the Capitol” and asked for “anything [he] could do to help.”

The BBC alleges that Kushner subsequently drafted a proposed presidential statement that “would have condemned the use of violence” and later worked alongside senior administration officials on another statement as Congress prepared to resume certification of the election.

The broadcaster further argues that testimony from Trump’s family members is relevant to his claim that the documentary harmed his personal reputation.

The three have “personal knowledge of Plaintiff’s reputation before and after the Documentary,” BBC lawyers wrote, adding that their testimony could help determine whether the disputed edit “actually and proximately caused him the reputational harm he alleges.”

That issue has taken on added importance after President Trump recently received permission to amend his lawsuit, withdrawing claims that the documentary damaged his businesses and commercial brand and instead focusing solely on alleged personal reputational harm.

U.S. District Judge Roy Altman has indicated that narrowing the lawsuit could affect the amount of damages ultimately available, while leaving unresolved the extent of the financial discovery the BBC may still pursue.

Media attorney Deanna Shullman told Newsweek that the revised lawsuit does not necessarily shield Trump’s relatives from participating in discovery.

“They may be asked to produce communications with the president, and they may be deposed,” Shullman said. “I think it is fair game.”

She added that family members could possess “very relevant information” concerning Trump’s claimed damages and “other issues in the case, truth being one of them.”

Florida International University law professor Howard Wasserman expressed a similar view, saying, “There should not be anything sacrosanct about them,” while describing Trump’s relatives with relevant information as “potential non-party witnesses.”

The immediate issue before the court concerns how the subpoenas can legally be served.

According to the filing, law enforcement personnel prevented a process server from reaching Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at their Florida residence and instead referred BBC attorneys to the Secret Service. The agency replied that it “is not authorized to accept service of these subpoenas for these individuals” and said it could not advise the broadcaster on how to serve them.

The BBC also stated that security personnel at Trump Tower prevented a process server from serving Donald Trump Jr. at that location.

The broadcaster said it repeatedly sought voluntary cooperation from President Trump’s legal team but was unsuccessful.

The BBC is now asking the court for what it described as the “modest relief” of permitting service through alternative means, including certified mail sent to the family members’ homes or workplaces or by serving Trump’s attorneys.

Judge Altman has scheduled the case for a two-week trial beginning in February 2027.