Prosecutor says Trump ‘family member’ is among ‘at least’ 25 witnesses in his federal election conspiracy case who withheld information and documents claiming attorney-client privilege

One of Donald Trump’s relatives asserted attorney-client privilege in an attempt to protect documents and communications in the Jan. 6 case, according to a new legal filing by special counsel Jack Smith.

The document, filed Tuesday, says “at least 25 witnesses withheld information, communications and documents based on claims of attorney-client privilege under circumstances where the holder of the privilege appears to be the defendant or the 2020 presidential campaign.”

“These included co-conspirators, former campaign staffers, the campaign itself, outside attorneys, a nonlawyer intermediary, and even a family member of the defendant,” according to Smith’s filing.

What the filing doesn’t say is which member of the Trump family is involved in the legal dispute, as Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors jockey ahead of the March trial date.

Only one of Trump’s children, 29-year-old Tiffany, is a lawyer, having graduated from Georgetown University Law School.

He is not known to have testified in the grand jury in the Smith investigation that led to Trump’s indictment in August as part of a conspiracy linked to his re-election bid.

The filing does not say whether the family said he was an attorney or perhaps possessed attorney-client work product.

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were both called to testify New York Times reported in February. Both were senior advisers to Trump in the White House.

Both testified before the House Committee on January 6. Kushner delivered one of the more memorable lines of the hearings when he was asked by former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) if he knew of any instances where former White House counsel Pat Cipollone threatened to resign.

“I — sort of — like I said, my interest at the time was to try to get as many pardons. And I know that, you know, he was always – he and the team were always like, “Oh, we’re going to quit. We’re not going to be here if that happens, if that happens.” So I kind of took it up to grumble, to be honest with you,” he replied.

Kushner was traveling in the Middle East on the day of the Capitol Hill uprising. Ivanka Trump said on video that she was in and out of the Oval Office on January 6. Her aide Julie Radford testified that Ivanka was upset when Trump called then-Vice President Mike Pence abusive.

Smith’s indictment describes Trump’s efforts to pressure Pence to refuse to accept certified votes during the election count, a key part of the alleged conspiracy.

Trump calls the indictment and other charges against him a witch hunt.

The purpose of the filing is to notify the Smith motion before trial if the Trump team intends to rely on an “advice of counsel” defense. Trump received advice during the effort from lawyers including Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, who were each indicted in a separate case in Georgia.

Smith’s indictment says Trump privately called Powell’s lawsuits “crazy.”

Smith’s team wants to know if he plans to use the defense and is citing public comments by his attorney John Lauro that suggest he may use it. Prosecutors want to know by Dec. 18 as they prepare for trial.

The filing was filed by Smith and drafted by senior assistant special counsels Thomas Windom and Molly Gaston.

“The Court should create an appropriate window in the pretrial schedule to ensure that all discovery, investigation, and litigation arising from notice of defense counsel can be addressed and resolved in an orderly manner,” they wrote.

The development came the day former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg appeared in a Manhattan court where Trump and his company face a civil lawsuit after a judge found fraud.