Trump grand jury to hear testimony from aide he was with on Jan. 6

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WASHINGTON A federal grand jury that will decide whether to indict former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election is scheduled to convene Thursday and hear testimony from an aide who was with Trump most of the day on Jan. 6, 2021.

William Russell, a former White House aide who now works for Trump’s presidential campaign, is scheduled to testify before a grand jury convened by special counsel Jack Smith. Russell previously testified before a grand jury, which is investigating the Jan. 6 riot and efforts to “disrupt the legal transition of power following the 2020 presidential election.”

Stanley Woodward, an attorney representing Russell, was seen near where the grand jury was meeting Thursday.

A photo released by a House committee on Jan. 6 of former President Donald Trump talking with his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and aide William Russell before Trump’s speech on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021. House Select Committee via AP file

Trump, who said this week that he received a target letter giving him until Thursday to testify before a grand jury, is not expected to appear at the federal courthouse in Washington.

Trumps target letter cites three specific federal laws related to deprivation of rights, conspiracy to defraud the US and tampering with a witness, said two lawyers with direct knowledge of the document.

The grand jury has heard testimony from dozens of witnesses in the extensive investigation.

Smith’s team appears to be focusing on a so-called fake electors scheme involving falsified records of electors allied with Trump who falsely claimed he won battleground states where President Joe Biden won. Michigan’s Democratic attorney general announced Tuesday that he has indicted 16 people involved in a fake electors scheme in the state, including eight felony counts each, including forgery.

Smith also subpoenaed security video from a polling site in Georgia, suggesting interest in some of the false conspiracy theories Trump and his team have been spreading about Black poll workers in a state won by Biden.

Smith, who delivered a grand jury indictment against Trump last month related to his handling of classified documents, was appointed in November, shortly after Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid.

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