Former President Donald Trump’s legal team is intensifying efforts to prevent key figures, including former Vice President Mike Pence, from testifying in upcoming evidentiary hearings linked to the January 6 Capitol riot. This strategy is aimed at blocking any damaging evidence from his 2020 election-subversion case from becoming public before the 2024 election.
Following a recent US Supreme Court decision that extended significant immunity to former presidents, Judge Tanya Chutkan now has the authority to oversee hearings determining the implications of charges against Trump. Sources close to Trump’s legal team reveal they will strongly oppose any attempts to compel testimony from prominent figures.
Trump’s legal team is anticipated to initiate a new legal challenge to shut down the possibility of what they call “mini-trials” where high-profile officials could provide testimony against Trump. They are planning to utilize executive privilege and other legal strategies to prevent Pence and other potential witnesses from appearing.
For example, if prosecutors seek to summon Pence or his chief of staff Marc Short to testify regarding discussions on January 6 about halting the certification of election results, Trump intends to block such testimony by asserting executive privilege and invoking the speech or debate clause protection.
Meanwhile, witnesses such as former Trump lawyer John Eastman or former Trump campaign official Mike Roman are expected to be precluded from testifying due to their valid concerns under the Fifth Amendment regarding self-incrimination. They are facing separate charges for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia.
These maneuvers come amid Trump’s persistent efforts to delay legal proceedings, including successfully halting a Supreme Court appeal on immunity related to the 2020 election in Washington, DC. This strategy also appears designed to utilize procedural delays to potentially influence the 2024 election.
While a spokesperson for Trump declined to comment on specifics of the legal strategy, insiders anticipate significant legal actions once the case returns to Judge Chutkan’s jurisdiction in August.
The court is expected to rule on pending motions, including requests for additional discovery materials, which could significantly impact the course of proceedings.
Trump argues for immunity, asserting that all actions in question were official presidential acts, and thus presumptively shielded from prosecution. His lawyers aim to avoid evidentiary hearings by resolving disputes through legal arguments rather than witness testimonies.
