A federal judge has ordered several of former President Donald Trump’s top aides to testify before a grand jury as part of a criminal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to reports Friday by ABC News and CNN.
Trump’s legal team is trying to invoke executive privilege to keep former aides from testifying and handing over documents to special counsel Jack Smith, who has issued subpoenas as part of a wider investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. But in an order sealed last week, Judge Beryl Howell rejected Trump’s efforts and ordered Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, to testify, among others.
Howell also ordered testimony from John Ratcliffe, Trump’s former director of national intelligence; Robert O’Brien, former national security adviser; Stephen Miller, former top assistant; and Dan Scavino, former deputy chief of staff.
Ken Cuccinelli, a former top official at the Department of Homeland Security, was also included in the judge’s order. So did former Trump aides Nick Luna and John McEntee.
Trump’s legal team is expected to appeal Howell’s decision, according to ABC News.
Howell in October rejected Trump’s claim of executive privilege to block testimony from several top aides to former Vice President Mike Pence, Greg Jacob and Marc Short. In that ruling, the judge ruled that the current president should exercise executive privilege, not the former president.