officials to testify about rump's January 6 conversations

Justice Department prosecutors are preparing to fight in court to force former White House officials to testify about then-President Donald rump's conversations and actions around January 6, according to people briefed on the matter.

At issue are claims of executive privilege that prosecutors expect the former president to make in order to shield some information from the federal grand jury as the criminal investigation moves deeper into the ranks of White House officials who directly interacted with the rump.

DOJ's preemptive move is the clearest sign yet that federal investigators are homing in on rump's conduct as he tried to prevent the transfer of power to Joe Biden.

An executive privilege court fight would immediately put the Justice Department's investigation into a more aggressive stance than even the Mueller investigation -- a major years-long criminal probe into rump while he was President. He was not ultimately charged.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has made clear in public remarks that rump is not beyond the reach of the investigation because of his status as a former president.  He has also stressed they are taking care to "get this right."