DOJ Reportedly Subpoenaed Dozens of Former Trump Aides in Recent Days, Suggesting New Phase of Jan. 6 Probe
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Samuel Corum/Getty Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued an estimated 40 subpoenas to former aides and campaign staffers of President Donald Trump in recent days, The New York Times reports — a signal that the federal investigation into the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots is progressing rapidly.
According to the Times, among those subpoenaed are former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, and Dan Scavino, who previously served as the White House deputy chief of staff for communications and director of social media.
Scavino was found to be in contempt of Congress in March for failing to comply with a separate congressional subpoena related to the 2020 election, which came from the bipartisan congressional committee investigating the riots.
The Times reports that the new subpoenas seek information about fundraising efforts made by the Trump-aligned Save America PAC after the 2020 election loss and about efforts by Trump allies to overturn the election by appointing false electors.
Reports surfaced earlier this year that, in the wake of Trump's loss, groups from seven states including Arizona, Georgia and New Mexico sent lists of so-called "alternate electors" to the National Archives. Those who signed the falsified documents claimed that Trump won the 2020 election — when, in reality, the electors in those states voted in favor of now-President Joe Biden. Those bogus documents were reportedly forwarded to the committee investigating the Capitol riots.
The Times also reports that two Trump advisers — Boris Epshteyn and Mike Roman — had their phones seized last week as evidence in the Department of Justice investigation. Epshteyn and Roman have earlier been linked to the fake electors plot.
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The news of the subpoenas comes as Trump is mired in a number of legal inquiries, including one by the FBI examining his handling of presidential records and classified material.
On Aug. 8, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., in an explosive moment in the ongoing criminal investigation into whether the former president violated statutes related to national security by allegedly mishandling classified documents he removed from the White House at the end of his presidency.
A 38-page affidavit used to obtain the warrant, which was later unsealed, showed there was probable cause "to believe that evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed" would be found on the premises of Trump's home.
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Among the materials retrieved by the agents were 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked "top secret" that are only meant to be viewed at secure government facilities, according to a property receipt that was unsealed with the search warrant.
Then there are the two investigations into the events of Jan. 6. One of those investigations, overseen by a bipartisan House committee, remains ongoing, with public hearings slated to continue in September.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice's separate probe of the events on and around Jan. 6 has been described by Attorney General Merrick Garland as "the most wide-ranging investigation in its history."
"We will hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer, legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next," Garland said in a July interview.
Trump, his family and supporters have repeatedly and insistently denied wrongdoing in the various criminal, congressional and civil inquiries. No charges have been filed against the former president.
