+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

An aide who once claimed he was with Trump when the former president declassified government records pleaded the fifth for the DOJ's Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report

Oct 25, 2022, 08:49 IST
Insider
Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, is making the claim that Trump could have declassified documents over social media.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
  • The DOJ is seeking testimonies from key witnesses for its Mar-a-Lago documents probe, per NYT.
  • One witness is Kash Patel, a Trump ally who claimed the former president declassified records.
Advertisement

An aide and loyalist to Donald Trump had little to share in his testimony this month related to the Department of Justice's investigation into the former president's handling of highly sensitive government documents, The New York Times reported.

The aide, Kash Patel, was previously appointed by Trump in June as a representative to deal with the National Archives and Records Administration regarding access to presidential records.

He once claimed in an interview with Breitbart, just a few months before FBI agents seized thousands of documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, that Trump had declassified "whole sets of materials" before leaving office.

"I was there with President Trump when he said 'We are declassifying this information,'" Patel told Breitbart.

But this month, Patel largely chose to plead the Fifth Amendment in his grand jury testimony for the Justice Department's ongoing criminal probe, a person familiar with the situation told The Times.

Advertisement

Patel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CNN first reported that Patel testified for several hours on October 13 before a grand jury in Washington, DC.

Federal prosecutors are now hoping to pressure Patel to testify, along with another key witness, Walt Nauta, Trump's former valet, according to The Times.

The Times previously reported that Nauta, who continued to work for Trump when he left the White House, was seen in security footage moving boxes out of a storage room in Mar-a-Lago.

Patel had made various claims about Trump's declassification of government records.

Advertisement

Shortly after FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago, Patel told Fox News that Trump made a "sweeping reclassification order" via social media.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article