President Donald Trump has asked a federal judge to deny the BBC’s request for court assistance in obtaining testimony and documents from three of his family members in a $10 billion defamation lawsuit he filed against the broadcaster. Trump’s legal team argues that the subpoenas served on daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and son Donald Trump Jr. are an attempt by the BBC to gain politically-driven leverage in the case.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami has yet to issue a ruling on the matter. Kuntz, a Trump-appointed judge, assumed responsibility for the president’s lawsuit from another judge recently. The previous judge has scheduled a February trial date, though reasons for the reassignment are not clear from court filings.

Earlier this year, a process server working for the BBC attempted to deliver subpoenas to Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their residence but was stopped by Secret Service agents who said they could not accept them. Similar attempts to serve Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower also failed. In response, the BBC has requested court permission to deliver subpoenas to Trump’s family members via certified mail.

The defamation lawsuit, originally filed in December, accuses the BBC of altering footage from Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech near the White House. The suit claims the BBC intentionally edited the speech to misrepresent Trump’s statements. The documentary aired a week before the 2024 presidential election, which Trump alleges was intended to influence the election outcome against him.

The BBC has acknowledged the editing error but denies any defamation of Trump. Trump’s lawyers contend that the BBC’s motion is part of an improperly broad discovery campaign previously judged unfounded by the court.