Kash Patel, a former high-level aide within the Trump administration, has been granted immunity by the Justice Department to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the handling of classified documents by former President Donald Trump, in accordance with reports.
A federal judge recently ruled that the Justice Department couldn’t compel Patel to testify without offering him protection from prosecution for any incriminating information he provided during his appearance, the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday.
Patel, a former chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller in the ultimate days of the Trump administration, cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during an appearance before the grand jury last month.
The immunity paves the best way for Patel, who’s on record saying Trump declassified the documents before leaving office, to reply questions on the materials seized by the FBI through the Aug. 8 raid at Mar-a-Lago, the report said.
But Patel could still be modified if information is uncovered independent of his testimony.
Patel was named by Trump to act as a liaison with the National Archives and Records Administration, which initially sought the documents starting in May 2021.
He is predicted to be grilled about how the reams of documents ended up at Trump’s Florida resort, whether or not they were classified and whether the previous president took actions to maintain the materials from the federal government.
Patel has said publicly that Trump declassified the documents as he prepared to exit the White House in January 2021.
“The White House counsel didn’t generate the paperwork to vary the classification markings, but that doesn’t mean the data wasn’t declassified,” Patel told Breitbart News in May.
“I used to be there with President Trump when he said ‘We’re declassifying this information,’” Patel told the outlet.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in September, said as president he was capable of make the choice to declassify the documents.
“Should you’re the president of the US, you may declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by occupied with it,” Trump told Hannity.
Quite a few key issues surrounding the handling of the classified materials, including the president’s declassification abilities, are working their way through court challenges.
FBI agents removed roughly 11,000 documents – about 100 of which contained classified markings – from Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8.
Kash Patel, a former high-level aide within the Trump administration, has been granted immunity by the Justice Department to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the handling of classified documents by former President Donald Trump, in accordance with reports.
A federal judge recently ruled that the Justice Department couldn’t compel Patel to testify without offering him protection from prosecution for any incriminating information he provided during his appearance, the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday.
Patel, a former chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller in the ultimate days of the Trump administration, cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during an appearance before the grand jury last month.
The immunity paves the best way for Patel, who’s on record saying Trump declassified the documents before leaving office, to reply questions on the materials seized by the FBI through the Aug. 8 raid at Mar-a-Lago, the report said.
But Patel could still be modified if information is uncovered independent of his testimony.
Patel was named by Trump to act as a liaison with the National Archives and Records Administration, which initially sought the documents starting in May 2021.
He is predicted to be grilled about how the reams of documents ended up at Trump’s Florida resort, whether or not they were classified and whether the previous president took actions to maintain the materials from the federal government.
Patel has said publicly that Trump declassified the documents as he prepared to exit the White House in January 2021.
“The White House counsel didn’t generate the paperwork to vary the classification markings, but that doesn’t mean the data wasn’t declassified,” Patel told Breitbart News in May.
“I used to be there with President Trump when he said ‘We’re declassifying this information,’” Patel told the outlet.
Trump, in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in September, said as president he was capable of make the choice to declassify the documents.
“Should you’re the president of the US, you may declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by occupied with it,” Trump told Hannity.
Quite a few key issues surrounding the handling of the classified materials, including the president’s declassification abilities, are working their way through court challenges.
FBI agents removed roughly 11,000 documents – about 100 of which contained classified markings – from Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8.
