Trump seeks to avoid testimony from former advisers on Jan.6 assault

The Washington Post and Politico reported that Mark Meadows, Kash Patel, Dan Scavino and Steve Bannon were instructed not to cooperate with the formal investigation of the House of Representatives on the mutiny carried out by Trump supporters, which some observers called an insurrection.

This transpired hours after the publication of a damning report from the Senate detailing the Trump’s efforts to undermine the authority of the Justice Department and overturn his November election loss to Joe Biden.

Trump’s lawyers argued in a letter to the president’s four former advisers that they can rely on the so-called “executive privilege” to keep their communications confidential.

The select committee investigating the January 6 attack summoned the four former advisers and other people involved in the riots, in order to establish links between the Trump White House and the hundreds of supporters of the former president who stormed the Capitol to stop a joint session aimed at certifying Biden’s presidential victory.

Key versions

At the time, Meadows was the White House chief of staff; Scavino ran social media for Trump; Bannon was a former political strategist who continued to operate for the Republicans; and Patel was a White House national security adviser whom Trump appointed to a senior Pentagon post after his electoral defeat.

The select committee ordered the four to turn over documents and appear for interviews with investigators next week.

Legal specialists have raised doubts that Trump can claim “executive privilege” over his actions in his final weeks in office to prevent his aides from talking.

But the issue doesn’t have much of a court record and the White House has said it would release Trump’s records to some extent to help with the investigation.

Dilation in investigations

This request from Trump could force the select committee to engage in legal battles that could extend the investigation.

“The former president continues to try to block subpoenas,” Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff, a member of the select committee, said in a statement on Twitter.

“This time, witnesses who break the law must weigh the prospect of being criminally prosecuted,” he warned. “Americans deserve answers. We’ll make sure they get them.”