![]() Other former Trump aides, including Stephen Miller and former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, have also recently been ordered by a judge to offer testimony despite Trump team objections of executive privilege. Capitol as Republican Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.Ī Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on this story but responded to the ruling in the Pence matter in a statement saying that the Justice Department “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.” 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. ![]() The decision rejected the Trump team’s objections on executive privilege grounds, though Boasberg did give Pence a victory by accepting his lawyers’ arguments that, for constitutional reasons, he could not be questioned about his actions on Jan. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that Corcoran had to return before the grand jury, and he was in court a week later.Īnother instance came last week when a different federal judge, James Boasberg, ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence had to give some testimony in a Justice Department special counsel probe into efforts to undo the election. They cited what’s known as the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege, which allows prosecutors to compel testimony from a lawyer if they can convince a judge that a client was using legal services in furtherance of a crime. But they’re nonetheless a key, closed-door win for the government as it investigates whether classified documents were criminally mishandled at Trump’s Florida home and the possible obstruction of that probe, as well as efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election. The rulings directing advisers and aides to testify don’t suggest that the Justice Department is close to bringing criminal charges, nor do they guarantee that prosecutors can secure testimony valuable to a potential prosecution. The vulnerability Trump faces in Washington alone has become clear over the past month, as judges in a succession of sealed rulings have turned aside the Trump team’s efforts to block grand jury testimony from witnesses - including from his own lawyer and his former vice president - who were or still are close to him and who could conceivably offer direct insight into key events. – Trump in court reckoning: What happened and what's ahead.– Trump charged with 34 felony counts in hush money scheme.– Live updates: Donald Trump arraigned on 34 felony counts. ![]()
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