Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions related to Jan. 6, report says
Former President Trump’s actions are being investigated by Justice Department prosecutors as part of an inquiry into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the Washington Post reported.
Two aides to former Vice President Mike Pence have been questioned recently before a grand jury about conversations they had with Trump and others close to him who tried to submit lists of fake electors from swing states won by Joe Biden, the Post said, citing two people familiar with the matter. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, the newspaper said.
A series of congressional hearings about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol have been televised. Here’s what you need to know.
Criminally charging a former president would be unprecedented, but an investigation by the Jan. 6 committee has laid out evidence for a number of potential charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States. A California judge said earlier this year it was more likely than not that Trump and lawyer John Eastman committed those crimes.
In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland was asked whether the Justice Department would indict Trump if the evidence supported such an action. “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 responded.
Representatives for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington and the Justice Department couldn’t immediately be reached for comment by Bloomberg News. A Trump spokesman didn’t immediately return a message left for comment.
Former Vice President Mike Pence’s ex-chief of staff has testified before a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and member of the Jan. 6 House select committee, said he wasn’t aware of the Justice Department notifying the panel about the investigation into Trump’s actions.
“I read that and felt a wave of relief,” he said of the Washington Post article.
Witnesses before the grand jury were asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021, the Post said. Prosecutors also asked about Trump’s pressure campaign on Pence, and what instructions the former president gave his lawyers and advisors about the lists of fake electors, the Post said.
Justice Department investigators also received phone records in April of Trump administration officials, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, the Post said, citing two other people familiar with the matter.
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