A federal judge on Friday said that several former officials in the Trump administration, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, must testify in a 2020 election inquiry.

The ruling by Judge Beryl A. Howell in Washington paves the way for former White House officials to appear for questioning before federal prosecutors, The New York Times reported.

The judge said the former administration officials cannot invoke executive privilege to avoid testifying to a grand jury investigating Trump.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida.A federal judge has ruled that former Trump officials cannot invoke executive privilege to avoid testifying to a grand jury investigating the former president.

Lawyers for Trump have tried to refuse to obey subpoenas issued to more than a half-dozen former administration officials in connection with his failed efforts to remain in office after his election defeat to President Biden.

Biden won the 2020 election, but Trump claimed it was stolen, and his legal team filed a slew of lawsuits in battleground states across the nation in an effort to overturn the result.