The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly forcibly seized the phones of a pair of top advisers to former President Donald Trump and handed out a series of subpoenas to over 40 people known to have associated with the former president as the criminal investigation into his alleged attempts to overthrow the election seems to be gathering steam.
It was reported by The New York Times that the most recent steps taken by the DOJ seemingly represent “some of the most aggressive steps the department has taken thus far in its criminal investigation” into the events surrounding the riot that happened on January 6, 2021.
The report claimed that the phones were taken from strategist Mike Roman and attorney Boris Epshteyn, who were allegedly connected to a plan to attempt to install fake pro-Trump electors out in swing states that were originally won by Old Uncle Joe.
The report also stated that Dan Scavino, the former Trump social media director, and Bernard Kerik, former New York City police commissioner, were another pair of individuals who received subpoenas.
The subpoenas went after “records or communications from people who organized, spoke at or provided security for Mr. Trump’s rally at the Ellipse,” stated a report from The New York Times. “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.”
Subpoenas have already gone out to various state-level lawmakers from states in which Trump associates allegedly attempted to install fake pro-Trump electors.
Trump ally Jeffrey Clark, and Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman reportedly got subpoenas of their own near the start of summer.
Trump is currently dealing with quite a few criminal investigations with the investigation into just how he handled the classified U.S. government records getting by far the most attention in the wake of the FBI raid targeting his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago.
An entirely separate federal grand jury issued even more subpoenas seemingly in connection with another investigation about Trump’s Save America PAC.
The subpoenas were going after information about the inner workings of the organization as the previous president solicited multiple millions of dollars while making a series of spurious claims concerning the election.
The overall investigation is thought to be looking at “whether [Save America PAC] had duped donors through misleading appeals about election fraud.”
Trump is also looking down the barrel of another criminal investigation in relation to his business dealings that took place in New York and a criminal investigation out in Georgia concerning alleged efforts to overturn the results of the election from 2020.
