Trump aide who spent Jan. 6 with former president to appear before grand jury

An aide who spent much of Jan. 6, 2021, with Donald Trump will testify again before a federal grand jury.

The grand jury considering charges against the former president will hear new testimony Thursday from former White House aide William Russell, who now works for Trump's presidential campaign, as part of an ongoing investigation of the U.S. Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, reported NBC News.

Russell has already testified at least twice before the grand jury that has heard from dozens of witnesses, including Jared Kushner, former aide Hope Hicks and former vice president Mike Pence.

Trump said this week he had received a target letter setting a deadline Thursday for him to appear before the grand jury, although he is not expected to do so, and it referenced three specific federal statutes related to deprivation of rights, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and tampering with a witness, according to two attorneys familiar with the letter.

Special counsel Jack Smith's team appears to be focused on the fake electors scheme Trump's allies concocted in an effort to keep him in the White House despite his election loss to Joe Biden.