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Donald Trump (archive image)
Photo: Cheriss May / imago / ZUMA Press
The investigation into the fatal attack on the US Capitol in January continues.
The focus is increasingly on the role that the then US President Donald Trump played in the escalation.
According to media reports, this now wants to prevent several of his former advisers from making a statement before a congressional committee of inquiry.
The committee had issued corresponding summons for the coming week.
The Politico online portal and the Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump had asked Mark Meadows, Kash Patel, Dan Scavino and Steve Bannon not to contribute to the US House of Representatives investigation.
Trump's attorneys reportedly argued in a letter to the four former advisers: Trump's communications with them and the relevant documents were protected by executive privileges and the protection of the relationship between attorney and client and should therefore not be made public.
Trump's speech fueled the mood
A few hours before the media reports appeared, the US Senate had submitted a report on Trump's attempts at the end of his presidency to undermine the powers of the Justice Department and to fight against his electoral defeat by today's President Joe Biden.
Trump still does not recognize his election defeat last November.
He repeated his completely unsubstantiated accusation of alleged electoral fraud in front of supporters in Washington on January 6, when Congress wanted to certify Biden's election victory.
Trump called on his audience to march to the Capitol and "fight the hell out of it."
Hundreds of radical Trump supporters stormed the parliament building as a result.
Five people were killed in the course of the violence, including a police officer and a Trump supporter who were shot by police.
The course of the ex-president is legally controversial
Meadows was Trump's chief of staff in the White House at the time.
Scavino was involved in Trump's online networking activities and Patel served as Trump's national security advisor.
The committee also summoned former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who had long since broken with the president in January but continued to play a role in Republican political action.
The parliamentary committee of inquiry into the Capitol storm had asked Meadows, Scavino, Patel and Bannon at the end of September to hand over documents on the matter by Thursday.
They should appear next week for questioning in Congress.
Whether Trump can use executive privileges for his final weeks in office to prevent his ex-advisors from making a statement is legally controversial.
Litigation about this could delay Congress investigations into the Capitol Assault.
The Democrat Adam Schiff, who is a member of the investigative committee, warned on the online service Twitter that if witnesses refused to testify, they would face criminal prosecution.
"The Americans deserve answers," said Schiff.
jok / AFP
