A federal judge ordered several of Donald Trump’s aides to testify in front of a grand jury in connection with the former president’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Multiple sources confirmed to ABC News that Trump’s attempt to exert executive privilege to shield those around him from testifying was rejected by Judge Beryl Howell in a sealed order last week. The probe is being led by special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Merrick Garland in November. Smith is also looking into the former president’s handling of classified documents.
The special counsel moved to compel testimony from Trump’s aides in February. Trump’s legal team challenged the subpoenas shortly thereafter on the basis that the former president’s communications with his aides ought to be kept confidential.
Aides who will testify in the criminal probe include Trump’s ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows, former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli.
Trump’s team slammed the move in a statement obtained by ABC.
“The DOJ is continuously stepping far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long accepted, long held, Constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege,” the statement read.
“There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump. The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and weaponizing the justice system in order to manipulate public opinion, because they are clearly losing the political battle,” it continued.
Trump is now expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. However, a three-judge panel from that Court has already upheld a different Howell order related to Smith’s probe.
On Wednesday, the panel rejected Trump’s challenge of an order directing his attorney, Evan Corcoran, to produce materials related to the former president’s handling of classified documents.
Meadows in particular is viewed as having information valuable to prosecutors. He directed a number of White House meetings with GOP lawmakers and coordinated with officials at the Department of Justice and in Georgia. Additionally, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchison claimed in testimony that Meadows burned papers in his office “once or twice” a week, according to the Hill.
Former vice president Mike Pence has also filed a motion to block a federal subpoena for his testimony relating to January 6.
Pence’s team has decided to go a different route from Trump’s. The former vice president will be asserting legislative instead of executive privilege. His team will argue that Pence was acting as president of the Senate on January 6 and is therefore shielded by the Constitution’s speech-or-debate clause, which protects lawmakers from certain law-enforcement actions targeted at their legislative duties.
The developments in the federal probe come as the investigation into Trump by the Manhattan DA appears close to yielding an indictment.
Trump claimed he would be arrested this week, which as of yet has not come to pass. Many immediately condemned the former president’s call for protests to take place.
Others have taken Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg to task for what they view to be a “politically motivated” prosecution.
The Manhattan DA’s office has responded internally and externally that it will not bow down to outside pressure. However, tensions rose even further Friday when it came to light that Bragg had received a death threat with a “suspicious white powder” inside. The powder was deemed non-hazardous and the incident will be investigated aggressively.