Overview
- Former Rep. David Rivera is slated to stand trial in Miami federal court on allegations he acted as a foreign agent for Nicolás Maduro’s government.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a longtime associate of Rivera, is scheduled to appear as a government witness next week, according to recent reporting.
- Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres granted a Justice Department petition allowing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to avoid testifying, with related documents remaining under seal.
- Court filings link the alleged effort to figures in President Donald Trump’s orbit, including Wiles, former adviser Kellyanne Conway, Rep. Pete Sessions, oil executive Harry Sargeant, and lobbyist Otto Reich.
- The filings detail intermediaries Raúl Gorrín—sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019—and Hugo Perera, describe coded references such as “Sombrero” and “melones,” and note hundreds of Ballard Partners records that Rivera’s attorneys say may never become public.