'Grave criminal peril': Legal analyst breaks down what Kash Patel’s agreement to testify could mean for Trump

03 November 2022

Norman Eisen, a CNN legal analyst, believes the upcoming testimony from Kash Patel could mean trouble for former President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, November 2, the Wall Street Journal reported that Patel — a Trump ally who also served as an official for the U.S. Department of Defense — has been granted immunity in exchange for his agreement to testify.

"Kash Patel, a close associate of former President Donald Trump, is set to soon testify before a federal grand jury probing the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after receiving immunity for his information, people familiar with the matter said," WSJ reported.

"A federal judge recently decided the Justice Department couldn’t force Mr. Patel to testify without such protection against his statements being used against him in some future prosecution," the news outlet added. "That ruling, the people said, opens the door for Mr. Patel, who says Mr. Trump broadly declassified White House documents while still president, to answer questions."

Initially, Patel invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid the possibility of self-incrimination while delivering grand jury testimony.

Patel has also gone on record insisting that he personally witnessed the former president declassify the documents at the center of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation.

During the latest segment of CNN's OutFront, host Erin Burnett reported the latest development and asked Eisen to weigh in with his perspective on what Patel's testimony might mean for the former president, per Mediaite.

"Erin, it signifies that in this investigation of the classified documents that the Department of Justice has found there is probable cause that crimes were committed when these documents were removed from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, that Kash Patel himself has some fear of self-incrimination," Eisen said.

He added, "That’s why you get an immunity order, because what you have to say could get you in criminal trouble. And, Erin, I think here it also signifies grave criminal peril for Donald Trump. Because it’s pretty unusual to give this immunity to a witness."

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