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Tuesday, September 13, 2022 11:07:05 PM
Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry
"Justice Department subpoenas more than 30 people in Trump's orbit in January 6 probe"
Insert: Substantial Escalation' In Jan. 6 Probe As DOJ Seizes Phones From 'Top' Trump Aides
It also seized the phones of two top Trump advisers, a sign of an escalating investigation two months before the midterm elections.
The mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Justice Department has spent more than a year focused on investigating rioters at the Capitol but has more recently been issuing subpoenas to figures closer to former President Donald J. Trump. Jason Andrew for The New York Times
By Glenn Thrush, Maggie Haberman, Adam Goldman and Alan Feuer
Sept. 12, 2022
All links
WASHINGTON — Justice Department officials have seized the phones of two top advisers to former President Donald J. Trump and blanketed his aides with about 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of the investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, people familiar with the inquiry said on Monday.
The seizure of the phones, coupled with a widening effort to obtain information from those around Mr. Trump after the 2020 election, represent some of the most aggressive steps the department has taken thus far in its criminal investigation into the actions that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
The extent of the investigation has come into focus in recent days, even though it has often been overshadowed by the government’s legal clash with Mr. Trump and his lawyers over a separate inquiry .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/us/politics/trump-doj-special-master.html .. into the handling of presidential records, including highly classified materials, the former president kept at his residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago.
Federal agents with court-authorized search warrants took phones last week from at least two people: Boris Epshteyn, an in-house counsel who helps coordinate Mr. Trump’s legal efforts, and Mike Roman, a campaign strategist who was the director of Election Day operations for the Trump campaign in 2020, people familiar with the investigation said.
Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman have been linked to a critical element of Mr. Trump’s bid to hold onto power: the effort to name slates of electors pledged to Mr. Trump from swing states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 as part of a plan to block or delay congressional certification of Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory.
What to Know About the Trump Investigations
Card [6] of 6
Numerous inquiries. Since former President Donald J. Trump left office, he has been facing several civil and criminal investigations into his business dealings and political activities. Here is a look at some notable cases:
Classified documents inquiry. The F.B.I. searched Mr. Trump’s Florida home as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified materials. The inquiry is focused on documents that Mr. Trump had brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, when he left the White House.
Jan. 6 investigations. In a series of public hearings, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack laid out a comprehensive narrative of Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. This evidence could allow federal prosecutors, who are conducting a parallel criminal investigation, to indict Mr. Trump.
Georgia election interference case. Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta-area district attorney, has been leading a wide-ranging criminal investigation into the efforts of Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. This case could pose the most immediate legal peril for the former president and his associates.
New York State civil inquiry. Letitia James, the New York attorney general, has been conducting a civil investigation into Mr. Trump and his family business. The case is focused on whether Mr. Trump’s statements about the value of his assets were part of a pattern of fraud or were simply Trumpian showmanship.
Manhattan criminal case. Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, has been investigating whether Mr. Trump or his family business intentionally submitted false property values to potential lenders. But the inquiry faded from view after signs emerged suggesting that Mr. Trump was unlikely to be indicted.
Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman did not respond to requests for comment. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
The names of those receiving the latest round of subpoenas in the investigation related to Jan. 6 have dribbled out gradually, with investigators casting a wide net on a range of issues, including Mr. Trump’s postelection fund-raising and the so-called fake electors scheme.
One of the recipients, people familiar with the case said, was Dan Scavino, Mr. Trump’s former social media director .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/magazine/dan-scavino-the-secretary-of-offense.html .. who rose from working at a Trump-owned golf course to become one of his most loyal West Wing aides, and has remained an adviser since Mr. Trump left office. Stanley Woodward, one of Mr. Scavino’s lawyers, declined to comment.
Another was Bernard B. Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner. Mr. Kerik, who promoted claims of voter fraud alongside his friend Rudolph W. Giuliani, was issued a subpoena by prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, his lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said on Monday. Mr. Parlatore said his client had initially offered to grant an interview voluntarily.
The subpoenas seek information in connection with the fake electors plan.
For months, associates of Mr. Trump have received subpoenas related to other aspects of the investigations into his efforts to cling to power. But in a new line of inquiry, some of the latest subpoenas focus on the activities of the Save America political action committee, the main political fund-raising conduit for Mr. Trump since he left office.
[Insert: They all love PAC money, Trump probably loves it even more than most. . All the more reason - IF - for him not to declare until as late as he can get away with it ..
“The only restriction on money in a leadership PAC—it can’t be used to campaign for an office,”
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=169529076]
The fact that the Justice Department is now seeking information related to fund-raising comes as the House committee examining the Jan. 6 attack has raised questions about money Mr. Trump solicited under the premise of fighting election fraud.
The new subpoenas encompass a wide variety of those in Mr. Trump’s orbit, from low-level aides to his most senior advisers.
The Justice Department has spent more than a year focused on investigating hundreds of rioters who were on the ground at the Capitol on Jan. 6. But this spring, it started issuing grand jury subpoenas to people like Ali Alexander .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/us/politics/january-6-investigation-ali-alexander.html , a prominent organizer with the pro-Trump Stop the Steal group, who helped plan the march to the Capitol after Mr. Trump gave a speech that day at the Ellipse near the White House.
While it remains unclear how many subpoenas had been issued in that early round, the information they sought was broad.
According to one subpoena obtained by The New York Times, they asked for any records or communications from people who organized, spoke at or provided security for Mr. Trump’s rally at the Ellipse. They also requested information about any members of the executive and legislative branches who may have taken part in planning or executing the rally, or tried to “obstruct, influence, impede or delay” the certification of the presidential election.
By early summer, the grand jury investigation had taken another turn as several subpoenas were issued to state lawmakers and state Republican officials allied with Mr. Trump who took part in a plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in several key swing states actually won by Mr. Biden.
At least 20 of these subpoenas were sent out and sought information about, and communications with, several lawyers who took part in the fake elector scheme .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/us/politics/pro-trump-lawyers-elector-scheme.html , including Mr. Giuliani and John Eastman.
Around the same time, federal investigators seized Mr. Eastman’s cellphone .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/us/politics/john-eastman-jan-6.html .. and the phone of another lawyer, Jeffrey Clark .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/us/politics/jeffrey-clark-trump-justice-dept.html , whom Mr. Trump had sought at one point to install as the acting attorney general. Mr. Clark had his own role in the fake elector scheme: In December 2020, he helped draft a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, saying that the state’s election results had been marred by fraud and recommending that Mr. Kemp convene a special session of the Georgia Legislature to create a slate of pro-Trump electors.
At least some of the new subpoenas also requested all records that the recipients had turned over to the House Jan. 6 committee, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Michael S. Schmidt and Katie Benner contributed reporting.
Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice. He joined The Times in 2017 after working for Politico, Newsday, Bloomberg News, the New York Daily News, the Birmingham Post-Herald and City Limits. @GlennThrush
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent. She joined The Times in 2015 as a campaign correspondent and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on President Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia. @maggieNYT
Adam Goldman reports on the F.B.I. and national security from Washington, D.C., and is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He is the coauthor of “Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD's Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden's Final Plot Against America.” @adamgoldmanNYT
Alan Feuer covers extremism and political violence. He joined The Times in 1999. @alanfeuer
"Justice Department subpoenas more than 30 people in Trump's orbit in January 6 probe"
Insert: Substantial Escalation' In Jan. 6 Probe As DOJ Seizes Phones From 'Top' Trump Aides
It also seized the phones of two top Trump advisers, a sign of an escalating investigation two months before the midterm elections.
The mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Justice Department has spent more than a year focused on investigating rioters at the Capitol but has more recently been issuing subpoenas to figures closer to former President Donald J. Trump. Jason Andrew for The New York Times
By Glenn Thrush, Maggie Haberman, Adam Goldman and Alan Feuer
Sept. 12, 2022
All links
WASHINGTON — Justice Department officials have seized the phones of two top advisers to former President Donald J. Trump and blanketed his aides with about 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of the investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, people familiar with the inquiry said on Monday.
The seizure of the phones, coupled with a widening effort to obtain information from those around Mr. Trump after the 2020 election, represent some of the most aggressive steps the department has taken thus far in its criminal investigation into the actions that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
The extent of the investigation has come into focus in recent days, even though it has often been overshadowed by the government’s legal clash with Mr. Trump and his lawyers over a separate inquiry .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/us/politics/trump-doj-special-master.html .. into the handling of presidential records, including highly classified materials, the former president kept at his residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago.
Federal agents with court-authorized search warrants took phones last week from at least two people: Boris Epshteyn, an in-house counsel who helps coordinate Mr. Trump’s legal efforts, and Mike Roman, a campaign strategist who was the director of Election Day operations for the Trump campaign in 2020, people familiar with the investigation said.
Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman have been linked to a critical element of Mr. Trump’s bid to hold onto power: the effort to name slates of electors pledged to Mr. Trump from swing states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 as part of a plan to block or delay congressional certification of Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory.
What to Know About the Trump Investigations
Card [6] of 6
Numerous inquiries. Since former President Donald J. Trump left office, he has been facing several civil and criminal investigations into his business dealings and political activities. Here is a look at some notable cases:
Classified documents inquiry. The F.B.I. searched Mr. Trump’s Florida home as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified materials. The inquiry is focused on documents that Mr. Trump had brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, when he left the White House.
Jan. 6 investigations. In a series of public hearings, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack laid out a comprehensive narrative of Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. This evidence could allow federal prosecutors, who are conducting a parallel criminal investigation, to indict Mr. Trump.
Georgia election interference case. Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta-area district attorney, has been leading a wide-ranging criminal investigation into the efforts of Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. This case could pose the most immediate legal peril for the former president and his associates.
New York State civil inquiry. Letitia James, the New York attorney general, has been conducting a civil investigation into Mr. Trump and his family business. The case is focused on whether Mr. Trump’s statements about the value of his assets were part of a pattern of fraud or were simply Trumpian showmanship.
Manhattan criminal case. Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, has been investigating whether Mr. Trump or his family business intentionally submitted false property values to potential lenders. But the inquiry faded from view after signs emerged suggesting that Mr. Trump was unlikely to be indicted.
Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman did not respond to requests for comment. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
The names of those receiving the latest round of subpoenas in the investigation related to Jan. 6 have dribbled out gradually, with investigators casting a wide net on a range of issues, including Mr. Trump’s postelection fund-raising and the so-called fake electors scheme.
One of the recipients, people familiar with the case said, was Dan Scavino, Mr. Trump’s former social media director .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/magazine/dan-scavino-the-secretary-of-offense.html .. who rose from working at a Trump-owned golf course to become one of his most loyal West Wing aides, and has remained an adviser since Mr. Trump left office. Stanley Woodward, one of Mr. Scavino’s lawyers, declined to comment.
Another was Bernard B. Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner. Mr. Kerik, who promoted claims of voter fraud alongside his friend Rudolph W. Giuliani, was issued a subpoena by prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, his lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said on Monday. Mr. Parlatore said his client had initially offered to grant an interview voluntarily.
The subpoenas seek information in connection with the fake electors plan.
For months, associates of Mr. Trump have received subpoenas related to other aspects of the investigations into his efforts to cling to power. But in a new line of inquiry, some of the latest subpoenas focus on the activities of the Save America political action committee, the main political fund-raising conduit for Mr. Trump since he left office.
[Insert: They all love PAC money, Trump probably loves it even more than most. . All the more reason - IF - for him not to declare until as late as he can get away with it ..
“The only restriction on money in a leadership PAC—it can’t be used to campaign for an office,”
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=169529076]
The fact that the Justice Department is now seeking information related to fund-raising comes as the House committee examining the Jan. 6 attack has raised questions about money Mr. Trump solicited under the premise of fighting election fraud.
The new subpoenas encompass a wide variety of those in Mr. Trump’s orbit, from low-level aides to his most senior advisers.
The Justice Department has spent more than a year focused on investigating hundreds of rioters who were on the ground at the Capitol on Jan. 6. But this spring, it started issuing grand jury subpoenas to people like Ali Alexander .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/us/politics/january-6-investigation-ali-alexander.html , a prominent organizer with the pro-Trump Stop the Steal group, who helped plan the march to the Capitol after Mr. Trump gave a speech that day at the Ellipse near the White House.
While it remains unclear how many subpoenas had been issued in that early round, the information they sought was broad.
According to one subpoena obtained by The New York Times, they asked for any records or communications from people who organized, spoke at or provided security for Mr. Trump’s rally at the Ellipse. They also requested information about any members of the executive and legislative branches who may have taken part in planning or executing the rally, or tried to “obstruct, influence, impede or delay” the certification of the presidential election.
By early summer, the grand jury investigation had taken another turn as several subpoenas were issued to state lawmakers and state Republican officials allied with Mr. Trump who took part in a plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in several key swing states actually won by Mr. Biden.
At least 20 of these subpoenas were sent out and sought information about, and communications with, several lawyers who took part in the fake elector scheme .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/us/politics/pro-trump-lawyers-elector-scheme.html , including Mr. Giuliani and John Eastman.
Around the same time, federal investigators seized Mr. Eastman’s cellphone .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/us/politics/john-eastman-jan-6.html .. and the phone of another lawyer, Jeffrey Clark .. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/us/politics/jeffrey-clark-trump-justice-dept.html , whom Mr. Trump had sought at one point to install as the acting attorney general. Mr. Clark had his own role in the fake elector scheme: In December 2020, he helped draft a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, saying that the state’s election results had been marred by fraud and recommending that Mr. Kemp convene a special session of the Georgia Legislature to create a slate of pro-Trump electors.
At least some of the new subpoenas also requested all records that the recipients had turned over to the House Jan. 6 committee, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Michael S. Schmidt and Katie Benner contributed reporting.
Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice. He joined The Times in 2017 after working for Politico, Newsday, Bloomberg News, the New York Daily News, the Birmingham Post-Herald and City Limits. @GlennThrush
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent. She joined The Times in 2015 as a campaign correspondent and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on President Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia. @maggieNYT
Adam Goldman reports on the F.B.I. and national security from Washington, D.C., and is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He is the coauthor of “Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD's Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden's Final Plot Against America.” @adamgoldmanNYT
Alan Feuer covers extremism and political violence. He joined The Times in 1999. @alanfeuer
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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