By Eric Tucker | Associated Press
He had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during an earlier appearance before the grand jury, but the Justice Department — in an apparent acknowledgment of his importance as a witness — later granted him a form of immunity that protects him from having his testimony used against him.
A former Justice Department prosecutor himself, Patel is a close Trump ally and held multiple roles in his administration, including as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council and later as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary, Chris Miller. In that interview, Patel said, Trump “declassified whole sets of materials in anticipation of leaving government that he thought the American public should have the right to read themselves.”