华盛顿地区法院的最高联邦法官迅速驳回了前总统唐纳德·特朗普关于行政特权阻止前总统的主张副总统迈克·彭斯知情人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，在调查推翻2020年选举的大陪审团面前作证。
与此同时，法官发布了一项裁决，勉强支持彭斯的律师提出的另一项法律挑战的部分内容，他们认为彭斯应该免于提供记录或回答某些问题与他的职责一致作为参议院主席监督2021年1月6日选举的正式认证。
据消息人士透露，华盛顿特区首席法官詹姆斯·博斯伯格(James Boasberg)下令，彭斯必须就任何涉及特朗普非法行为的问题向特别顾问杰克·史密斯提供答案。
彭斯的团队认为，这种沟通可能会与言论和辩论条款相冲突，该条款保护国会官员免受与其工作具体相关的法律诉讼。
特朗普的一位发言人在给美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说:“DOJ不断超越标准规范，试图破坏长期接受、长期持有的、基于宪法的律师-客户特权和行政特权标准。”。
“任何针对特朗普总统的案件都没有事实或法律依据或实质，”声明说。“精神错乱的民主党人和他们在主流媒体上的同志正在腐蚀法律程序，并将司法系统武器化，以操纵和影响特朗普总统全面主导的选举。”
特别检察官办公室拒绝对美国广播公司新闻发表评论。彭斯的发言人没有立即回应。
就在博斯伯格做出裁决的四天前，他和彭斯的律师出现在地方法院，对他们的挑战进行辩论特别律师的传票。
目前尚不清楚特朗普或彭斯的法律团队是否计划对这些裁决提起上诉。
彭斯此前誓言，如有必要，将向最高法院发出传票，最近他告诉美国广播公司驻华盛顿首席记者乔纳森·卡尔，“我们将尊重法院的决定，这可能会让我们进入美国最高法院。”
2月份对彭斯的传票要求他提供与特朗普及其盟友推翻2020年大选失败有关的文件和证词，此前联邦检察官和彭斯的法律团队进行了数月的谈判。
博斯伯格的命令是在他的前任华盛顿特区首席法官贝丽尔·豪厄尔法官最近做出的另一项裁决之后发布的同样被拒绝特朗普对行政特权的主张超过了其他多名高级助手的证词，包括他的前白宫办公厅主任马克·梅多斯。
在美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)看到的一封信中，白宫特别顾问理查德·索伯(Richard Sauber)通知杰克·史密斯，总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)不会对彭斯的证词主张行政特权。
“这些事件反映了自内战以来对联邦政府运作最严重的攻击，不仅威胁到国会和国会大厦其他人的安全，也威胁到我们历史和宪法中所载的民主原则，”索伯今年2月写信给史密斯，此前史密斯曾联系白宫，以确定总统是否计划对彭斯的大陪审团出庭行使特权。
“鉴于这些独特的情况，拜登总统已经确定，在阻挠根据我们的宪法有序移交权力的努力方面，行政特权的主张不符合公众利益。”
Judge rejects Trump's privilege claims over Pence testimony in Jan. 6 probe
The top federal judge for the D.C. district court has issued a swift rejection of former President Donald Trump's assertion of executive privilege to prevent former Vice President Mike Pence from testifying before a grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
At the same time, the judge issued a ruling that narrowly upheld parts of a separate legal challenge brought by Pence's attorneys, who have argued Pence should be exempt from providing records or answering certain questions that align with his duties as president of the Senate overseeing the formal certification of the election on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to sources, D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg ordered that Pence should have to provide answers to special counsel Jack Smith on any questions that implicate any illegal acts on Trump's part.
Pence's team had argued that such communications could run afoul of the Speech and Debate Clause that shields officials in Congress from legal proceedings specifically related to their work.
"The DOJ is continuously stepping far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long accepted, long held, Constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege," a Trump spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
"There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump," the statement said. "The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and weaponizing the justice system in order to manipulate and influence an election in which President Trump is dominating all across the board."
The special counsel's office declined to comment to ABC News. A spokesperson for Pence did not immediately respond.
Boasberg's rulings came just four days after his and Pence's lawyers appeared at the district court to argue their challenge to the subpoena from the special counsel.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump or Pence's legal teams are planning to appeal the rulings.
Pence has previously vowed to fight the subpoena to the Supreme Court if necessary, most recently telling ABC's Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, "We're going to respect the decisions of the court, and that may take us to the highest court in the land."
The February subpoena to Pence demanded he provide documents and testimony related to the failed attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election and followed months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence's legal team.
Boasberg's orders followed upon another recent ruling by his predecessor in the role as D.C.'s chief judge, Judge Beryl Howell, who similarly rejected Trump's claims of executive privilege over the testimony of multiple other top aides, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
In a letter reviewed by ABC News, White House special counsel Richard Sauber informed Jack Smith that President Joe Biden would not be asserting executive privilege over Pence's testimony.
"These events -- which reflected the most serious attack on the operations of the Federal Government since the Civil War -- threatened not only the safety of Congress and others present at the Capitol, but also the principles of democracy enshrined in our history and our Constitution," Sauber wrote to Smith in February, after Smith had reached out the White House to determine whether the president planned to assert privilege over Pence's grand jury appearance.
"In light of these unique circumstances, President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the public interest with respect to the efforts to thwart the orderly transition of power under our Constitution."
