Trump tells former aides to defy subpoena from 6 Jan committee
Trump vows to go to court to block former aides from testifying before committee investigating Capitol riots
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Your support makes all the difference.Former President Donald Trump has reportedly told four close aides to ignore a subpoena to testify before the House committee investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.
The four former Trump officials, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, ex-White House adviser Steve Bannon, Dan Scavino and Kash Patel, have been ordered to turn over documents to the 6 January committee by Thursday.
But in a letter obtained by Politico, Mr Trump has told them not to cooperate, and claimed they are covered by executive privilege.
“President Trump is prepared to defend these fundamental privileges in court,” the letter said.
The committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans is investigating how a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol as it was certifying the results of the 2020 election.
It has previously said it may ask the Justice Department to help enforce subpoenas and prosecute anyone who defies them.
The four former senior aides to the Trump administration were told to make themselves available to testify before the committee by next week.
CNN reported on Wednesday that Dan Scavino, the former social media adviser to Mr Trump, was dodging attempts to physically serve him with a subpoena.
Steve Bannon has admitted discussing with Mr Trump how to “kill the Biden presidency in the crib” ahead of the 6 January rally.
Last month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden would not invoke executive privilege to prevent Mr Trump’s phone records from being shared with the committee.
“The President has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege and so we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise,” Ms Psaki told a press briefing.
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