Former President Donald Trump speaks at an America First Policy Institute agenda summit at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Bernie Kerik, the former New York police commissioner and longtime Giuliani ally, was also named on both Georgia and Arizona subpoenas. Kerik worked with Giuliani on Trump’s post-election legal strategy, making him a potentially valuable witness.
But DOJ’s interest in that strategy may come with its own built-in challenges. Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for the former commissioner who also represents Trump on a separate matter, told POLITICO that he would move to quash any DOJ subpoena of Kerik.
“He was a member of the legal team, so a large portion of his knowledge would be privileged and therefore something the DOJ is not permitted to look into,” Parlatore said.
And Trump’s legal exposure isn’t just of the federal criminal variety. He still faces a civil probe by the attorney general in New York as well as an investigation by the district attorney of Georgia’s Fulton County into efforts by his backers to influence that state’s electoral votes.
He’s also the subject of sweeping lawsuits by members of Congress and Capitol Police officers who blame him for the violence of Jan. 6.
In short, Trump is where he’s been for much of his political life: at the center of intense criminal and legal controversies. The question is, will this time be different?
Here’s a rundown of the accelerating criminal and civil investigations aimed at Trump, who’s openly mulling when to announce a third presidential campaign:
DOJ’s work
The Justice Department on Monday pushed forward with its inquiry into the movement of boxes labeled as classified to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after the end of his presidency. The FBI’s raid of the estate — which resulted in the seizure of paper records — was a historic step for DOJ, marking the first time a former president has faced such a public law enforcement action.
The inquiry had been in the works for months, but largely faded into the background amid Trump’s other legal woes — until Monday’s raid. The National Archives and Records Administration had said in February that it had recovered 15 boxes of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago, including some marked as “classified national security information.” The Archives also confirmed at the time that it was in touch with the Justice Department about the recovered documents and was working to recover social media records that were not preserved by the Trump administration.
Federal prosecutors have also recently questioned two ex-aides to former vice president Mike Pence. Both were in the West Wing as Trump lobbied Pence to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is also cooperating with the DOJ probe, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. ABC first reported that news.
In addition, federal agents last month raided the home of Jeffrey Clark, a DOJ official whom Trump considered appointing as acting attorney general in the days before Jan. 6. The same week, agents seized the cell phone of Eastman, a conservative attorney who developed Trump’s fringe legal strategy to overturn the election on the same day Congress was set to certify Biden as its winner.
Both actions were connected to an inquiry by the DOJ inspector general, who has authority to investigate matters connected to department employees. But on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom appeared on the docket of the Eastman case, suggesting the matter is being handled by the same prosecutorial team investigating the false elector issue.
Subpoenas recently obtained by the Post show that prosecutors have asked grand jury witnesses to share any information they have about Trump’s effort to remain in power despite losing reelection. These developments indicate DOJ has been eyeing Trump’s actions for months as part of its broader probe.
That inquiry has focused in part on the state Republican Party chairs and dozens of pro-Trump activists who falsely claimed to be legitimate presidential electors even though Biden had won their states’ popular votes. DOJ last month uncorked a batch of grand jury subpoenas aimed at several of those false electors, who were a pillar of Trump’ efforts to subvert the 2020 ballot.
The Jan. 6 select committee has shown Trump played a direct role in the Eastman-generated push to get Pence to consider slates of “alternate” pro-Trump electors. The then-president connected Eastman with Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel in December 2020 to seek her help with the plan.
Prosecutors have eyed other elements of pre-Jan. 6 activity as well. “Stop the Steal” founder Ali Alexander, who helped organize pro-Trump events that preceded the attack on the Capitol, testified to a grand jury in April.
Fulton County, Georgia
While public indications of DOJ’s investigation have bubbled up, the Atlanta-area probe run by District Attorney Fani Willis appears closer to actual charging decisions.
Willis recently subpoenaed a long list of Trump’s closest allies connected to the effort to overturn the 2020 election, including Eastman and Giuliani, as well as attorneys Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); and Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.).
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks during an event in June hosted by Fox News in Boston.