A US judge has ordered former president Donald Trump’s ex-aides to appear before the grand jury investigating the notorious attack on the US Capitol building. This comes even as the former president attempted to block their testimony. As per a report by ABC, Trump’s aides from his time in the White House have been asked to testify before the federal grand jury investigating the Capitol riots that shook the US on January 6, 2021. The jury is looking into the failed attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections. Trump has reportedly sought to prevent his former aides from testifying by invoking ‘executive privilege’.
Citing multiple sources, ABC reports that US judge Beryl Howell last week struck down Trump’s claims of executive privilege via a sealed order.
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A Trump spokesperson has branded the move a step outside the norms.
Talking to ABC, the spokesperson said that the Justice Department had stepped “far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long-accepted, long-held, constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.”
As per the report, the former president is likely to appeal the ruling.
The following former aides have been ordered to testify: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, former top Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli, along with former advisers Stephen Miller, Nick Luna and John McEntee.
Reuters reports that this is one of the two probes into the former president that is being handled by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Trump, who is once again running for president in 2024, calls these investigations “witch hunts” and has repeatedly claimed that they are politically motivated. The businessman is also facing inquiries in Georgia and New York.
(With inputs from agencies)
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