Olivia Asher is a reporter at the New Herald Tribune covering breaking news for the Digital Trends Desk. Before joining the newsroom in 2022, she covered criminal justice issues at the Orlando Plain Dealer.
August 19 , 2026
WASHINGTON — Lawyers defending the BBC in President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit have encountered an unusual obstacle in their effort to serve subpoenas on members of the president’s family: the protective perimeter surrounding them.
The BBC has asked a federal court in Florida for permission to serve subpoenas on Ivanka Trump, her husband, Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. through alternative means, including email and certified mail. Court filings say attempts to serve the documents in person have been unsuccessful because of Secret Service security arrangements.
In response, BBC lawyers have taken the problem one step further, turning to DoorDash as a potential solution.
The proposed strategy, according to people familiar with the situation, would involve ordering a McDonald’s meal to a location where one or more of the prospective witnesses are staying and placing the subpoena in the delivery bag. The plan would not require the delivery driver to know anything about the legal significance of the paperwork.
The plan reportedly arose upon learning that Kushner prohibits Secret Service agents from intercepting food deliveries out of fear they may be tempted to take some of the fries.
As a result, the Secret Service has adopted a special operational guideline: agents may inspect food deliveries for security purposes but are prohibited from interdicting McDonald’s orders merely to acquire french fries.
Trump sued the BBC over a 2024 documentary that edited portions of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech in a manner he says falsely suggested he was urging supporters toward violence. The BBC has apologized for the editing but denies that the program amounted to defamation.
BBC lawyers say the three family members could possess relevant information about Trump's intentions surrounding the speech. Their court filing says Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were present during parts of the speech's preparation and that Kushner shared Big Macs and french fries with the President on the day in question.
The Secret Service has said it cannot accept civil subpoenas on behalf of people it protects and that its security procedures are intended to protect its principals, not prevent lawful legal proceedings.
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