(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is seeking to prevent the special counsel investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election from using testimony provided by former top White House lawyers to a federal grand jury, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

In recent weeks Trump’s attorneys have asked a court to bar special counsel Jack Smith from using testimony from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his former deputy Patrick Philbin as evidence in Smith’s ongoing investigation into the events surrounding Jan. 6, said the sources, who spoke about the confidential court battle on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss nonpublic litigation.

Trump’s lawyers have also filed to prevent Smith from using former Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann’s grand jury testimony, the sources said.

Prosecutors in Smith’s office have urged an appeals court to reject Trump’s efforts, arguing that the matter is moot given that the three men have already spoken to the grand jury, the sources said in regard to the sealed testimony.

Representatives for Cipollone, Philbin and Herschmann did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. The special counsel’s office declined to comment.

“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 source close to Trump who is familiar with the issues told ABC News.

Investigators late last year overcame a previous legal challenge that was made on the grounds of executive privilege. Both Cipollone and Philbin appeared before the grand jury in September 2022, but declined to answer some questions until issues surrounding claims of executive privilege were resolved. Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ruled that claims of privilege by Trump didn’t apply, and Trump’s legal team did not seek to stay the ruling.

Cipollone and Philbin then appeared before the grand jury for a second time in December 2022. Trump’s lawyers appealed Howell’s ruling about a month later, after the two had already provided additional testimony.

Cipollone was one of the few aides with Trump on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and is said to have significant insight into events before, leading up to, and after the attack. In the days following Jan. 6, Cipollone advised Trump that Trump could potentially face legal jeopardy in connection with his role encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol, sources said following the attack.

Both Cipollone and Philbin were part of a Jan. 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting where Trump mulled replacing then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Jeff Clark, a Trump loyalist who had vowed to use the DOJ to investigate alleged 2020 election irregularities.

Trump’s previously undisclosed attempt to suppress the lawyers’ testimony adds yet another dimension to the ongoing efforts by his legal team to slow the fast-paced developments in Smith’s investigations — including Smith’s separate probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office and Trump’s potential obstruction of the government’s efforts to retrieve them.

Last month DOJ investigators probing Trump’s handling of classified documents asked a judge to overrule attorney-client privilege and compel Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to answer questions about his interactions with Trump before a grand jury, sources previously told ABC News. The DOJ made the request on the basis of the crime-fraud exception, sources said, which allows for attorney-client privilege to be suspended in cases where it is suspected that legal services were rendered in the commission of a crime.

Oral arguments in the matter are scheduled for later this week, according to sources.

The special counsel has also asked a federal judge to compel former Vice President Mike Pence to testify after Pence was subpoenaed last month as part of the Jan. 6 probe, sources familiar with the matter previously told ABC News. Last week, Trump’s attorneys filed a motion to prevent Pence from testifying on the grounds of executive privilege.

Sources told ABC News that in February, prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election also moved to compel testimony from a number of other top Trump aides, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows. In some cases the motion seeks to break through claims of executive privilege that either some of the witnesses or attorneys for Trump have attempted to assert.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former “Boy Meets World” star Ben Savage is running for Congress in California’s 30th Congressional District, he announced on Monday.

“I’m running for Congress because it’s time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our country’s most pressing issues,” Savage wrote in an Instagram post.

“And it’s time for new and passionate leaders who can help move our country forward. Leaders who want to see the government operating at maximum capacity, unhindered by political divisions and special interests,” he continued.

He described himself as a “proud Californian, union member and longtime resident of District 30 who comes from a family of unwavering service to our country and community.”

Savage is running for Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff’s seat while Schiff is now running to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will retire at the end of her term.

In January, Savage submitted paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run as a Democrat in the 30th District, which encompasses West Hollywood, Burbank and parts of Pasadena.

A representative for Savage told ABC News in a statement at the time, despite the filing, that “he is focused on his upcoming wedding. Ben is still making decisions and always looking for opportunities to give back and serve the community.” (Earlier in January, Savage announced he is engaged to Tessa Angermeier.)

This isn’t Savage’s first campaign to hold office. He ran unsuccessfully to be on the West Hollywood City Council in the 2022 election, focusing on community safety, housing and homelessness, according to his website.

Savage famously played the lead role of Cory Matthews on ABC’s “Boy Meets World” from 1993 to 2000 and then reprised his character in the 2014 reboot, “Girl Meets World.” His most recent roles were two TV films, in 2022 and 2020.

Savage has seemingly long had an interest in politics, having studied political science at Stanford University, where he graduated in 2004. He also interned for Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, then a Republican, in 2003.

The general election will be on Nov. 5, 2024.

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(NEW YORK) — A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed Saturday in Springfield, Ohio, marking the fourth rail incident in the state in the last couple of months, including the toxic crash in East Palestine, Ohio.

Although the company said there were no hazardous materials in the latest incident, elected officials in the area have expressed more frustration with Norfolk Southern and called for better safety protocols.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown spoke with GMA 3 about the incident and his legislation, the Railway Safety Act.

GMA 3: Joining us now is the senior senator from Ohio, Sherrod Brown. Senator, thanks for taking the time. Let’s jump right in to this because we have a lot to talk to you about. Begin by telling us the latest that you can share with us about the second Norfolk Southern derailment, which is near Springfield, Ohio.

SEN. SHERROD BROWN: That’s the fourth derailment in five months. Steubenville, Sandusky, of course, the most disastrous East Palestine in eastern Ohio and now Springfield. And I have some questions about Springfield that there was some residue in the cars. I want to make sure that that’s not a problem for local residents. But I mean, start with this: This is a company immensely profitable. They’ve done billions of dollars in stock buybacks. In the last couple of years alone…they’ve laid off a third of their workforce.

They’ve compromised on safety. The workers don’t have enough time to do the thorough inspections they should do. So companies like this do the kind of damage they did for, again, four derailments in five months in my state.

What it’s done to East Palestine, it’s going to take tens of millions of dollars to fix what they did, and people there are still suffering. [They’re] coming back into their homes, testing their water, testing the soil, testing the air, the damage to farmers and local businesses. So they still have a lot to answer for.

GMA 3: And while this new one is much different than what happened in East Palestine, you were just talking about that no hazardous chemicals were leaked. You met with residents of East Palestine last week. What stood out to you from that discussion? Are you satisfied with the cleanup efforts that are going on there?

BROWN: No, I’m not satisfied. I’m not satisfied that this company is going to change its behavior. I’m not satisfied that they have really listened to local residents whose lives are upended. They just want to get their lives back to normal. Norfolk Southern says they’re going to pay for everything. They said they’re going to pay for hotel stays and testing and damages. But one of the fears I have is what these chemicals mean for somebody two years, five years down the road.

And I compare that to what Congress did on the PACT Act, for the hundreds of thousands of veterans who were exposed to these football field-sized burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan and breathed all this stuff in. We passed a law, the PACT Act, that simply says if you have one of 23 illnesses that we’ve identified in that law, you get immediate care at the VA without having to get a lawyer and suing and all of that.

I don’t know if that’s what we’re going to need to do in East Palestine. If we do, if we write a law like that or we’re going to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the damage they did.

GMA 3: And Senator, we’re getting word today that Norfolk Southern announced and they announced it today that all of its trains over 10,000 feet will now use distributed power units, which will be remotely controlled and help with acceleration and braking. That’s what they have done. You have recently introduced your own suggested changes to this bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023. So I’m curious, what would that legislation do? And do you think it would have prevented what happened in East Palestine?

BROWN: Well, I don’t know if it would have prevented it, certainly would have mitigated the damage. It wouldn’t have been nearly this, this is damaging to a local community. Think about a couple of things. One hundred and fifty cars in East Palestine, many of them jumped the tracks. In Springfield, as you just reported, more than 200 cars.

That’s one of the things our bill does is create, would require a two-person crew. Norfolk Southern wanted to have a one-person crew on these trains. It also says it also mandates when these trains come into the state, they’ve got to notify the state authorities if they’re carrying hazardous materials so the state can then inform local firefighters to be ready in case something happens.

It improves the safety of wheel bearings, which has been the cause of more of these accidents than anything else. It ups the fines. The average fine Norfolk Southern paid in the last few years is $10,000 for safety violations. That’s pennies on the dollar of a company that gives $6, $7 billion in stock buybacks.

So we will do a number of those things in this bill. And Sen. [J.D.] Vance, the Republican sponsor, and I and then Sen. [Bob] Casey in Pennsylvania, we have three Republicans, three Democrats. As soon as I return this week…we’re going to work to get this bill through the Senate.

GMA 3: Now we hear you criticizing Norfolk Southern. You’re mentioning the stock buybacks. The CEO of Norfolk Southern, Alan Shaw, is due to testify before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday. Now, you’re not actually on that committee, but what would you like to see them press the company on?

BROWN: Well, I’m testifying too when the CEO does. I want him to promise to a congressional committee, to a Senate committee that he’s going to do all these things that he is going to notify when trains come into the state, that he’s committing to a two-person crew, that he will not object, that he will even support bigger fines, that he will pay, that they will reimburse all these residents.

Five thousand people live in that town. But we think the damage could be to farmers. A farmer told me that she has 25-herd of beef cattle. She’s getting calls from regular customers that buy a side of beef, half a beef. Is it safe this year? I don’t know. She doesn’t know. The customers don’t know.

So Norfolk Southern needs to commit especially to long-term health problems that might come to people in this community. They need to commit to pay for that, to bring this community back to normal as much as it possibly can.

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