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Nov. 3 (UPI) -- One of former President Donald Trump's top advisers during his presidency has been granted limited immunity by the Justice Department in exchange for his testimony. Sources within the department confirmed the deal with Kash Patel to NBC, adding Patel is expected to speak to investigators soon.
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The deal was also confirmed by the New York Times, and The Guardian, both of which cited sources within the department.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Patel to testify in front of a grand jury investigating the handling of federal records at Mar-a-Lago, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
The investigation is looking into whether or not Trump broke any laws by removing documents from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after his presidency.
The FBI raided his home in August, removing boxes of documents as part of the ongoing investigation.
The judge ruled an immunity offer was the only way to force Patel to testify in the ongoing probe. The 42-year-old attorney is considered crucial to the investigation, in particular whether Trump did indeed declassify any of the documents that were removed.
More than 100 of the documents seized during the August raid did have classified markings. The former president claimed he declassified "all" the documents that were in his residence, however there is a specific procedure that must be followed in order to officially declassify official documents.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in August, Patel said he personally watched Trump verbally declassify documents -- which according to law is not the proper procedure.
Under Trump, Patel served on the National Security Council and later urged the former president not to accept the results of the 2020 election.
