The has asked a court to let it subpoena Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the Trump defamation lawsuit over a Panorama edit. The request adds Donald Trump’s family members to a $10bn legal fight that began with a dispute over how the 6 January 2021 speech was presented.
Court filings show the ’s legal team tried in May to serve subpoenas on the three family members for documents and testimony. The filing says Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump were present when their father revised and delivered the speech, while Jared Kushner drafted a proposed statement that would have condemned the use of violence.
Florida filing widens the dispute
Trump sued the last December in Florida, also naming Studios Productions and Studios Distribution, over the 2024 Panorama episode. His lawsuit says the programme had “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring” the speech he gave outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021. The has already apologised for an editing error that gave “The mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.
The broadcaster’s latest filing asks the court to allow the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail after hand service failed. A representative tried to deliver a subpoena for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at their home in Florida but was refused entry at a police checkpoint. That representative was later told by the Secret Service that the agency could not accept the subpoenas.
Trump Tower in New York attempts
A separate attempt to serve Donald Trump Jr at Trump Tower in New York also fell short. The concierge said the person who normally took such documents may have been at lunch, and two days later the representative was told the “legal department” was not in that day. The ’s lawyers say Trump’s family members have “personal knowledge” of his intentions in delivering the speech.
Trump’s legal team has accused the broadcaster of “intentionally defamed” the president and of “seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process”. The argues the programme does not meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not made available on its US platforms, while Trump says the edit changed the meaning of his speech outside the Capitol.
Next ruling on service
The immediate question now sits with the court: whether the subpoenas can go forward by email and certified mail. If the judge allows that route, the will have a clearer path to seek testimony and documents from Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner inside the same lawsuit that already seeks $10bn in damages.
