The Justice Department is further expanding its investigation of issues related to what Donald Trump and key allies of his did after the last presidential election.
According to a new report from The New York Times, more than a dozen people tied to Trump — including Stephen Miller and Brian Jack, the latter of whom was the last political director in the Trump administration — recently received subpoenas seeking details about the operations of Trump’s Save America PAC and the post-election scheme to assemble faked electoral votes for Trump. Among other potential issues, the PAC faced scrutiny from the House committee investigating January 6 because of the deceptive pretenses under which the Trump political operation raised massive amounts of money after the 2020 elections. Much of that money went to the PAC. In short, prospective donors were deceived about the prospects for legitimately undoing Biden’s presidential election win and regarding what Trump’s team would do with their money. Most of it never directly supported any election-related litigation.
As for the faked electoral votes scheme, it’s also a subject of the ongoing criminal probe in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into pro-Trump meddling after the election. Meanwhile, as recapped by the Times, Jack’s work in the White House “was generally confined to advising Mr. Trump on races further down the ballot.” He is still an adviser to Trump, and he also advises House Republicans including House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.). According to the Times, other Trump-connected individuals who recently received federal grand jury subpoenas include someone who has served as the chief financial officer at the Trump campaign and a former chief of staff to Ivanka Trump, who held an advisory position in Donald’s presidential administration throughout its existence.
Among the specific areas of info sought across the subpoenas are communications with pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who was partly responsible for the plan involving the faked electoral votes. The Times notes at least one of the new subpoenas featured the name of an experienced fraud prosecutor, suggesting potential financial misconduct is an area of acute concern for the Justice Department. All of these developments are separate from the criminal investigation into Trump’s handling and harboring of federal government documents. He remains legally jeopardized by a staggering array of investigative efforts.
