The four former White House aides subpoenaed by a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have received instructions from their old boss not to cooperate. A letter from a lawyer for former President Donald Trump tells them to not turn over documents or consent to interviews as ordered, Politico reports. The documents are covered by executive privilege, the letter says, adding, "President Trump is prepared to defend these fundamental privileges in court." The letter also cites attorney-client privilege.
Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, Dan Scavino, and Kash Patel face a midnight Thursday deadline for the files. The interviews are supposed to be next week. Patel, who was in the Defense Department, told the Washington Post in a statement that he'd speak through his website he's using to raise $250,000 for "a top-notch legal team," adding, "I will continue to tell the American people the truth about January 6, and I am putting our country and freedoms first through my Fight with Kash initiative."
Trump has cited executive privilege before, but the new administration has indicated President Biden probably would turn over information about Trump's actions on Jan. 6 if the committee asked for it. The panel hasn't said how it would enforce its subpoenas of the four Trump aides, but a couple of members said it could ask the Justice Department to prosecute uncooperative witnesses. It's also possible the four would ignore Trump's direction, per Politico; they could be sentenced to a year in prison and fined as much as $100,000 if they're convicted of criminal contempt of Congress. (More Capitol riot stories.)
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