(CNN) A federal judge has ordered several aides to former Donald Trump, including Mark Meadows, to testify before a grand jury as part of a criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, ruling out the former president’s claim of executive privilege, multiple sources have confirmed to CNN.
Trump’s legal team challenged subpoenas issued by special counsel Jack Smith seeking testimony and documents from Meadows, the former president’s White House chief of staff, as well as others via to assert executive privilege.
In a sealed decision last week, Chief Judge Beryl Howell previously rejected the Trump team’s privilege claim for Meadows and other top Trump administration officials subpoenaed by Smith, including former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien and former Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli, the sources told CNN.
Trump’s privilege claims for other former White House aides, including Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino, were also rejected, the sources said.
Trump’s legal team is expected to appeal the decision, a source familiar with the matter said.
ABC News first reported the decision.
Some of the witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury but refused to answer some questions related to their interactions with Trump may have to come back.
A Trump spokeswoman criticized the decision in a statement, accusing the Justice Department of “continuing to violate standard practices in an attempt to undermine long-accepted, long-held, constitutionally-based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.”
“There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any of the charges against President Trump. Deranged Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media have undermined the legal process and weaponized the justice system to manipulate public opinion. , because they are clearly losing the political battle.”
O’Brien and Cuccinelli recently appeared before a grand jury after receiving subpoenas as part of Smith’s investigation.
The investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election before the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol is one of two ongoing investigations overseen by special counsel Smith.
This is separate from the criminal-level investigation in the state of Georgia related to the efforts of Trump and his allies to inflate the results of the 2020 election there and one in New York centered on the alleged role of the former president in pay money to a mature movie star.
Smith also oversaw the criminal investigation stemming from the discovery of classified documents obtained from Trump’s Mar-a-lago residence.
This story has been updated with additional details.
