A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., denied former President Donald Trump's bid to block some of his closest advisers, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows, from testifying about him to a grand jury, siding with the Justice Department on Tuesday.
Last week, Trump's legal team asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to undo a lower court's sealed decision that would force several of his top advisers to answer questions to a grand jury investigating Trump's and his allies' attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential election results despite his claims of legal shielding around his presidency that would bar some of their testimony.
TRUMP TURNS TO APPEALS COURT TO STOP MARK MEADOWS TESTIMONY BEFORE GRAND JURY
A sealed Tuesday order denying an emergency motion from Trump's team came after several late-night filings in the case. The initial order stemmed from then-D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell rejecting his claims of executive privilege over the officials.
Among the former officials ordered to testify include aide Stephen Miller, former Department of Homeland Security Official Ken Cuccinelli, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Other officials ordered to testify including Nick Luna, an assistant to Trump, and John McEntee, former director of the Presidential Personnel Office.
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The case was assigned to a three-judge panel at the district-based appeals court late Monday night, the DOJ responding two hours later, just after 1 a.m. The panel included Judges Patricia Millett, Robert Wilkins, both appointees of former President Barack Obama, and Judge Greg Katsas, a Trump appointee.
Special counsel Jack Smith's team is seeking grand jury testimony from the former Trump aides as part of a sweeping criminal investigation into Trump's post-election subversion in 2020 and the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.