- Mark Meadows and other Trump aides were ordered to offer more testimony to a grand jury investigating January 6.
- A federal judge dismissed Trump's claims of executive privilege in a sealed order last week.
- ABC News first reported the news.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and many other top advisers to former President Donald Trump must provide additional testimony to the federal grand jury investigating the ex-president's role in challenging the 2020 election results and in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, a federal judge ruled last week in a sealed order, according to an ABC News report on Friday.
In the order, US District Judge Beryl Howell dismissed Trump's claims of executive privilege for Meadows and other former officials, including Trump advisors Nick Luna, John McEntee and Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Robert O'Brien, and deputy secretary of homeland security Ken Cuccinelli, sources told ABC.
US special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the January 6 probe, previously subpoenaed Trump's aides for testimony and documents. Some of them had appeared before the grand jury but declined to answer certain questions about their interactions with Trump, ABC reported.
Trump had invoked executive privilege, or the president's right to keep communications private, in an effort to block the subpoenas. His team is expected to appeal Howell's order compelling his aides' testimony, according to ABC.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.