Prosecutors Pressure Trump Aides to Testify in Documents Case
Federal prosecutors are looking for more information from the White House on President Donald Trump’s former aides who are accused of obstructing his Russia probe.
The New York Times reports that at least four aides for those former aides plan to testify in the public interest, including former chief strategist Steve Bannon, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, a former Trump adviser.
President Donald Trump, in comments last week, said he would cooperate with the Russia probe “if it’s at all possible.”
The Times’ sources say the federal government is trying to gather more information on the potential obstruction of justice and whether Trump is a criminal.
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Federal prosecutors are reportedly looking at the actions of President Donald Trump’s former aides as part of their efforts to get them to cooperate with the Russia investigation.
The White House is expected to object to the idea of the former aides giving testimony before the grand jury and at a probable cause hearing in front of a judge. They also plan to assert executive privilege and refuse to testify before the court, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Trump is also said to be concerned the testimony could compromise his administration’s efforts to protect him from potential perjury charges by former aides.
“He has said that he wants to cooperate, but he is concerned about the potential for obstruction of justice,” one of the Times’ sources said. “He is concerned about that because he has said that he wouldn’t do that. He told [Attorney General Bill] Barr that he thinks that would be a problem, too. And it is.”
The Times reports that at least four people have been set to testify before the grand jury and at a probable cause hearing in front of a judge. The grand jury is seeking to determine whether Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia in elections, which were held in 2016, and whether he obstructed the investigation.
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