Cybersecurity & Tech Democracy & Elections

Justice Department Authorizes Former Trump Officials to Testify Before Congress, Rejects Executive Privilege

Ajay Sarma
Tuesday, July 27, 2021, 2:52 PM

Letters to six former Trump Justice Department officials permit them to provide information to Congress about the department’s role in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

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The Department of Justice informed members of the Trump administration on July 26 that they could testify to congressional committees about the Trump administration’s efforts to invalidate the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The letters explain that the department will not assert privilege over information relevant to investigations by the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee into former President Trump’s attempt to use the resources of the Justice Department to subvert the results of the election. Letters from Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer were sent to six members of the Trump Justice Department, including former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, authorizing them to provide “unrestricted testimony to the Committees” within the context of the investigations.

You can read the letters here or below.


Ajay Sarma is a junior at Harvard College studying Social Studies. He is an intern at Lawfare.

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