Trump appeals Judge's order to testify in Jan. 6 probe

The former president Donald Trump is appealing a judge's order that one of his former chiefs of staff and other top aides testify before the federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 riot, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

U.S. Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled this month that Mark former chief of staff Meadows and other aides, including Dan Scavino and Stephen Miller, must testify despite Trump's invocation of executive privilege.

The appeal and Trump's appeal were filed under seal because of the active grand jury investigation. The appeal was filed Wednesday, and the source confirmed that the appeal was related to Howell's earlier ruling.

Other people who were asked to testify are former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, ex-national security adviser Robert O Brien, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli and former White House aides Nick Luna and John McEntee.

A criminal investigation usually supersedes executive privilege, as it did when the Supreme Court forced President Richard Nixon to hand over tapes of his Oval Office conversations.

A spokesman for Trump didn't respond immediately to a request for comment about the appeal, which was first reported by Bloomberg News. A spokesman for the Justice Department wouldn't say anything.

The ruling was one of Howell's last as a judge overseeing legal challenges to special counsel Jack Smith's dual investigations into Trump's involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and handling of documents with classification markings found at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. She is now overseeing the case in Washington by her successor, James Jeb Boasberg.

Boasberg denied a different Trump executive privilege claim Monday when he said that former Vice President Mike Pence had to testify about Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, a source familiar with decision said.