A BBC process server got turned away from Trump Tower because the person who handles legal papers might have been eating lunch.
That glorious detail comes from court filings in the ongoing $10 million defamation battle between President Donald Trump and the British Broadcasting Corporation, as reported in recently released documents. The BBC wants a Florida federal court to authorize subpoenas for Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, compelling all three to hand over testimony and records about what went down at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The network's lawyers argued in their filing that these three individuals possess personal knowledge and likely control documents relevant to the president's claims. The court gave Trump's legal team a deadline to respond. His attorney, Alejandro Brito, did not immediately reply to a request for comment from CBS News.
A spokesperson for Trump's legal squad fired back, accusing the BBC of trying to harass the president, his relatives, and his supporters through abuse of the deposition process. They also said the BBC is just trying to distract from its own obvious liability. Classic "no, YOU'RE the problem" legal strategy.
So how did we get here? Back in December 2025, Trump sued the BBC over a 2024 Panorama documentary that edited together two clips from his speech before the Capitol breach. His lawyers claimed the clips were 55 minutes apart in the actual address, and that the edit conveniently sliced out a statement calling for peace. They accused the broadcaster of intentionally and maliciously misleading viewers into thinking Trump directly called for violence.
The BBC actually apologized in 2025, admitting the video gave "the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action." They also promised never to air the program again. But they still insist the edit doesn't constitute legitimate grounds for a defamation suit. So, sorry but also not sorry enough to pay $10 million.
Now here's where it gets truly magnificent. Court documents reveal the BBC attempted to serve subpoenas in May 2026. When representatives showed up at Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's Florida residence, local police officers physically prevented them from completing service. Just imagine flying across the Atlantic to deliver legal papers and being stopped by a couple of cops at the driveway.
But the Trump Tower saga in New York was even better. A BBC representative arrived to serve Donald Trump Jr. and was informed by a concierge that the individual who normally accepts such documents might have been out to lunch. Might have been. Not "was" out to lunch. Might have been. Schrödinger's lunch break.
Two days later, that same determined representative returned to Trump Tower for another attempt. This time the concierge delivered an even more devastating blow: the legal department was not in that day. The entire legal department. Just gone. Perhaps also at lunch.
The BBC's legal team now wants the court to formally authorize service so they can stop getting stonewalled by concierges with impeccable comedic timing.
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