Top Trump official to plead the fifth to Capitol attack committee

John Eastman, linked to efforts to stop Biden certification, to invoke constitutional protection against self-incrimination

Former Trump lawyer John Eastman, who was connected to efforts to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election win on 6 January, will plead the fifth amendment protection against self-incrimination before the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack.

The move by Eastman, communicated in a letter to the select committee by his attorney, is an extraordinary step and appears to suggest a growing fear among some of Trump's closest advisers that their testimony may implicate them in potential criminality.