Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,
President Donald Trump has accused the BBC of harassing his family after the state-funded broadcaster's lawyers tried to force his children and son-in-law to testify in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit.
The corporation's legal team asked a Florida court for authorisation to serve subpoenas on Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Court filings show the BBC claims the three "have personal knowledge and likely have possession, custody, or control of records relevant to multiple elements" of the case.
Attempts to deliver the papers in person were repeatedly blocked by the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
BREAKING: US President Donald Trump has accused the BBC of harassing his family after the broadcaster tried to subpoena his children.
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A spokesman for Trump's legal team made the president's position clear: "The BBC intentionally defamed President Donald J. Trump, and now the BBC is seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process. The BBC is simply trying to distract away from their own obvious liability."
The BBC's process servers tried to hand documents to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at their Florida home, only to be stopped at a police checkpoint. The Secret Service later confirmed it could not accept the subpoenas on their behalf.
Separate attempts to serve Donald Trump Jr at Trump Tower in New York were turned away by security and staff who said the legal department was unavailable.
Unable to complete personal service, the BBC is now asking the court for alternative methods such as email or notice to the family's lawyers. The broadcaster insists the three family members were present or involved around the January 6, 2021 speech at the heart of the lawsuit and can speak to Trump's intentions that day.
'The BBC are now trying to subpoena members of the Trump family. It's farcical.'
Podcaster Paul Duddridge reacts as Donald Trump accuses the BBC of harassing him as the corporation pursues further action in Donald Trump's defamation case against it. pic.twitter.com/bopKNfIaMS
Donald Trump says BBC harassed his family by 'abusing the deposition process'https://t.co/QZVXf0ueE8
— GB News (@GBNEWS) August 17, 2026The lawsuit itself targets a 2024 BBC Panorama documentary that spliced together portions of Trump's speech delivered more than 50 minutes apart. The edit created the false impression that the president was urging supporters to storm the Capitol.
Trump has always maintained he called for peaceful protest. He is seeking $10 billion in damages for harm to his reputation, brand and businesses. A trial is scheduled for February 2027 in Miami.
This is the same scandal that already cost the BBC its top leadership. In late 2025, Director General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness both departed after the misleading edit became public.
Trump had warned at the time that the corporation's "very dishonest people" had tried to interfere in an American presidential election and threatened legal action that later escalated into the current $10 billion claim.
While the Corporation fights tooth and nail in American courts to avoid accountability for its own editing practices, the UK government has been working to force social media platforms to artificially boost BBC content.
Plans outlined earlier this year would require YouTube and other giants to prioritise the state broadcaster's output under the guise of fighting "disinformation."
Critics have long argued that the same organisation now seeking to compel testimony from a sitting U.S. president's children is the one British taxpayers are forced to fund and that ministers want algorithmically force-fed to the public.
Trump's legal team frames the latest move as an attempt to muddy the waters rather than confront the original doctored footage that triggered the entire case.
The Florida court will decide whether the BBC can proceed with alternative service.
Whatever the ruling, the spectacle of a foreign state broadcaster chasing the children of the American president after being caught splicing his words reeks of desperation.
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Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 14:00Copper prices in London have held above $14,000 a ton for nine consecutive sessions, with steep backwardation signaling that near-term demand is outstripping available supply. A confluence of bullish drivers is pushing prices toward record highs, while the key cash-to-three-month spread has widened to its highest level since the 2021 market squeeze.
The spot price traded as much as $543.50 a ton above three-month contracts on the London Metal Exchange, a hallmark of steep backwardation that signals near-term demand is outstripping available supply.
LME copper curve signals deep backwardation:
Three-month futures rose as much as 1.7% to $14,396 a ton on Monday, closing in on January's record of $14,527.50.
Richard Garchitorena, a New York-based Barclays equity research analyst covering North American metals and mining stocks, wrote Monday morning that mining stocks are poised for further gains as copper supplies continue to tighten.
Garchitorena said copper supplies remain constrained for a number of reasons: Chilean production fell 6.7% year over year through June, prompting Cochilco to cut its 2026 forecast to 5.27 million tons, down 2.6%. Antofagasta separately reduced its annual guidance by about 5% after severe weather disrupted its Los Pelambres mine. An outage at Indonesia's Gresik smelter has also delayed shipments, with no restart date established.
He added that LME copper stockpiles have plunged 32% from a month earlier to 205,000 tons, while Comex inventories rose 8% to 735,000 tons as traders await a potential U.S. tariff on refined copper. He also noted that speculative net-long positions increased to 77,123 contracts, up 20% from July.
Garchitorena's preferred individual mining stocks to watch include Freeport-McMoRan, First Quantum Minerals, Hudbay Minerals, Newmont and Agnico Eagle.
Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX)
Separately, David Wilson, head of metals strategy at BNP Paribas SA, told clients, "There seems to be momentum for it to get there," referring to the potential for LME copper to exceed the January record. "It's moving into overbought territory, but I don't know if that means anything at the moment, given how tight it is."
"Normally you'd expect to get more Chinese deliveries into the LME," BNP's Wilson said. "But the thing is, why would you deliver to the LME when you can still effectively ship metal into the US?"
Bloomberg noted that the copper squeeze comes "ahead of the third Wednesday of the month delivery date, the main focus of liquidity in the LME's contracts. That may pile pressure onto traders with short positions."
Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 13:40