Donald Trump, Jr. speaking with attendees at the 2021 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Image via Gage Skidmore.
President Donald Trump's son is getting a little extra help in dodging questions about a lawsuit thanks to the U.S. Secret Service, a court filing Friday revealed.
The elder Trump is suing the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in a Florida court for editing his Jan. 6 speech to supporters before they attacked the U.S. Capitol and police officers. According to Trump's case, the editing presented his speech in a "misleading" way and dramatically harmed his reputation.
The clip is one that has been played for years, in which Trump calls on his supporters to march to the Capitol, and he'd be with them. Later in the speech, he tells them to "fight like hell." Those moments were far apart in the speech, but Trump says that the footage makes it appear as if they were closer together. It also left out his quick disclaimer to march "peacefully."
According to Trump, the BBC rearranged his whole speech to fit its narrative, and it caused him so much harm that he wants $10 billion from the network. It is broken into $5 billion for defamation and $5 billion for deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The BBC says that it wasn't misleading on purpose and was an error in editing, but it doesn't meet the U.S.'s standard for defamation of a public official. Trump would also have to prove that he was harmed, and between the time that the video aired and the lawsuit, he was elected to the presidency again.
On Friday, Trump released the documentary company from being a defendant in the lawsuit, Deadline reported.
However, the BBC also filed a response to a previous "statement of interest" by the U.S. government, saying that it is considering participating in the case as an interested party. It doesn't mean that Trump is having his Department of Justice sue the BBC; rather, the U.S. government simply wants to step in to protect its own interests, The Telegraph reported on Thursday.
BBC responded to the government's filing on Friday, and national security analyst Marcy Wheeler spotted a curious comment in a footnote.
The BBC argues that the government lacks standing in the case, and it certainly lacks standing to challenge subpoenas issued to the parties involved.
"Some of Defendant’s subpoenas were directed to purely private individuals – i.e., persons who either never served in government or whose prior government service is unrelated to the requested records – such as Sidney Powell, Roger Stone, and Donald Trump, Jr.," the filing says.
It then references a footnote, emphasizing the word "prevented."
"Ironically, the government complains about the subpoena to Mr. Trump Jr. even though the government itself – specifically, the U.S. Secret Service – has to date prevented Defendant from serving that subpoena on Mr. Trump Jr.," the document says.
The Secret Service protects all of Trump's five adult children, as mandated by Department of Homeland Security regulations. It does not have the legal authority to interfere with subpoenas or any legal matters.