The US Department of Justice investigation into the attempt to overturn the 2020 election results has been expanded to include the actions of former President Donald Trump, according to washington postyou.
The newspaper, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, reported that witnesses appearing before a grand jury in recent days have been questioned about “conversations with Trump, his attorneys and others in his inner circle.”
the Mail reports that federal prosecutors have asked “detailed questions” about the meetings Trump led, Pressure exerted on his vice president, Mike Penceto block voter certification, and any Trump involvement in a plan to align “false” voters backing it up
The New York Times Additionally confirmed the report of the Mail.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the MailThe report of when he was contacted by The Daily Beast.
One of Trump’s attorneys, Alan Futerfas, declined to comment when contacted by phone by The Daily Beast Tuesday night. Another source close to Trump told The Daily Beast that they could not confirm that the DOJ was now looking at Trump, but had heard “rumors about it for a couple of weeks.”
Among the most recent witnesses to appear before the grand jury are former Pence advisers Marc Short and Greg Jacob, the Mail informed. Both men, who also appeared before the House committee on Jan. 6 to discuss Trump’s attempts to pressure his boss, declined to comment.
Short is the highest-ranking official so far to have cooperated with the investigation.
The DOJ’s expanded approach apparently predates the House hearings, as the feds obtained the phone records of Trump administration officials, including Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in April, the Mail informed.
The House cannot criminally charge anyone, but the Justice Department has never brought charges against a former president.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has been criticized in some quarters for not being aggressive enough. But speaking to NBC News on Tuesday night, Garland warned that he would hold anyone “criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, accountable for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another.”
“We seek justice without fear or favoritism. We don’t pay attention to other issues.”
He said that if Trump were to become president again, we will hold anyone who is criminally responsible accountable.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) praised Garland Tuesday night for acknowledging “a broader investigation into the plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”
“I hope that if the department is really following the evidence where it leads, it will recognize that it has been leading Donald Trump,” he said on MSNBC.
The news comes just hours after Trump returned to Washington to deliver his first speech in DC since leaving office.
“We have become a beggar nation that crawls to other countries in search of energy, millions of illegal aliens are stampeding across our open borders, invading our country, it is an invasion,” he said.
“Our country is receiving one historic humiliation after another on the world stage.”
On Tuesday afternoon, when news of the investigation broke in the MailTrump did not respond to the matter in a statement or on his social media site, Truth Social. Instead, he was busy posting snippets of his speech earlier that day.
Sources within the former president’s orbit who have spoken to The Daily Beast say that over the past week, he has grown increasingly frustrated with the House Jan. 6 committee.
Trump frequently criticizes the “one-sided forum” and the “kangaroo court” to anyone who pays attention, a source said. “There is no court in this country where that is allowed,” added that same source close to Trump.
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