Trump’s White House Lawyer Subpoenaed by Jan 6 Grand Jury

Former Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, according to reports.

Herschmann, who has been a key witness in the Jan. 6 committee hearings so far, has been subpoenaed for documents and testimony in relation to the riot, according to Politico.

Herschmann had represented former President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2020 and later joined the White House to provide Trump with legal advice throughout his tenure.

The subpoena comes nearly three weeks after it was reported that Trump is being scrutinized by prosecutors as part of the larger inquiry into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Herschmann was present for several consequential meetings in the final weeks of Trump’s term as he clashed with aides and advisers who debated on ways to challenge the results of the 2020 election, as revealed in a summer slate of hearings held by the Jan. 6 committee.

This testimony could be of interest to the DOJ, as prosecutors have begun asking witnesses, including top aides to former Vice President Mike Pence, about conversations they had with Trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle, sources told the Washington Post.

The former Trump White House lawyer is not the first to receive a subpoena related to the Jan. 6 attack. Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former deputy counsel Patrick Philbin have also been subpoenaed.

Because of Herschmann’s role as a senior adviser in the White House, there’s likely to be a back-and-forth over what information he can disclose due to executive and attorney-client privilege.

The Justice Department has also been investigating such Trump allies as John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani for their part in advising the former president as they developed strategies to block Biden’s path to the White House.

The investigation aims to uncover what the former president told his attorneys and senior officials to do as part of their bid to change the 2020 election’s outcome, and there are two other paths that could lead to additional scrutiny of Trump, according to the Washington Post.

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One centers on seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct a government proceeding, similar to charges levied against individuals who were arrested on charges of storming the Capitol. Another involves charging Trump with fraud in connection to the false elector plot or his efforts to pressure the DOJ to overturn the results of the election.

The DOJ investigation is being conducted alongside the one being spearheaded by the House Jan. 6 committee and the election criminal investigation being run by the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia. Trump has denied wrongdoing and claims he is being targeted by a political “witch hunt.”