A federal judge tossed Trump’s claim of executive privilege and forced a top Mike Pence aide to testify before the 1/6 criminal grand jury.
In a sealed decision that could clear the way for other top Trump White House officials to answer questions before a grand jury, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled that former Pence chief of staff Marc Short probably possessed information important to the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that was not available from other sources, one of those people said.
Trump appealed, but the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to postpone Short’s appearance while the litigation continues, the people said, signaling that attempts by Trump to invoke executive privilege to preserve the confidentiality of presidential decision-making were not likely to prevail.
The ruling has very important ramifications because it means that top Trump White House officials and aides, including Trump himself, can be forced to testify before the DOJ criminal grand jury investigating the 1/6 attack and the potential role of Trump and his administration.
There has been a great deal of argument that what Trump did and also didn’t do while the Capitol was under attack rose to the level of criminality. Now, the door is open for those who were in the White House on 1/6 to be forced to testify in a criminal investigation that could lead to real consequences for Trump.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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