The Justice Department is investigating President Donald Trump’s actions as part of its criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to four people familiar with the matter, reports The Washington Post.
Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe (The Washington Post)
Excerpt from The Washington Post: Prosecutors who are questioning witnesses before a grand jury have asked in recent days about conversations with Trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won, according to two people familiar with the matter. The prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021; his pressure campaign on Pence to overturn the election; and what instructions Trump gave his lawyers and advisers about fake electors and sending electors back to the states. The revelations raise the stakes of an already politically fraught probe involving a former president.
According to Axios, Attorney General Merrick Garland did not rule out the possibility of prosecuting former President Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in a Tuesday interview with NBC News' Lester Holt.
Merrick Garland: DOJ won't rule out prosecuting Trump (Axios)
Excerpt from Vox: The Justice Department is facing pressure to act after multiple members of the Jan. 6 committee said they believe there is evidence Trump committed crimes and he should be investigated. "We pursue justice without fear or favor," Garland told Holt when asked if Trump running in 2024 would change the DOJ's investigation timeline. "We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable. That's what we do," Garland said in the interview.
In a related story, Representative Adam Schiff said that Attorney General Merrick Garland had made a "key distinction" about the January 6 Capitol attack following a report that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating former President Donald Trump, writes Newsweek.
Schiff Explains Garland's 'Key Distinction' Amid Report of Trump DOJ Probe (Newsweek)
Excerpt from Newsweek: In a portion of the interview that Schiff later shared to Twitter alongside the comment "AG Garland made a key distinction tonight," Schiff said Garland was "saying all the right things" for the DOJ to eventually file criminal charges against Trump. I think the attorney general today was saying all the right things. I perceived a difference between what he'd been saying earlier about focusing on all those involved in the attack on January 6, and now talking more broadly about the overall plot to overturn the election."
According to The Hill, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) apparent new focus on Donald Trump in its Jan. 6 investigation presents prosecutors with multiple possible paths to an indictment, as sketched out by the House select committee’s own investigation into the former president’s White House and outside allies.
DOJ has multiple possible paths to Trump indictment: Here’s what it could look like (The Hill)
Excerpt from The Hill: The department’s new line of inquiry will give it an opportunity to corroborate the select committee’s evidence and fill in remaining gaps in the lawmakers’ case against Trump. Members of the select committee have said their evidence supports charging Trump with obstruction of an official proceeding — a felony charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and has been used against hundreds of rioters charged in the aftermath of the attack. According to the Post, the DOJ is pursuing lines of inquiry that could lead them to weighing such charges against Trump as well as those involving conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Even seditious conspiracy charges, which have been brought against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, are reportedly under consideration, though experts warn the DOJ may ultimately be hesitant to bring such a weighty case.
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