DOJ moves to subpoena ex-CIA head Brennan on Trump-Russia probe
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It was not immediately clear what new ground the investigation might cover compared with previous look-back efforts.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – The US Justice Department is moving to subpoena former US officials who worked on the investigation into whether anyone associated with Mr Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in that year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida is taking steps to send subpoenas to former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan and others, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing ongoing law enforcement operations.
Prosecutors have also moved to send subpoenas to former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, according to one of the people.
Prosecutors are interested in the period from the summer of 2016 through the November presidential election that year and into the early weeks of Mr Trump’s first term, another person familiar with the situation said.
The government is asking for information related to the intelligence community’s assessments in connection with the investigation into whether Russia interfered in that election, the person said.
The subpoenas do not list specific criminal statutes under investigation, the person said.
Fox News Digital reported the subpoenas earlier. The US attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawyers for Mr Brennan and Ms Page declined to comment. A lawyer for Mr Strzok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation over the summer into claims that national security officials participated in a conspiracy in late 2016 and early 2017 to link Mr Trump to Russia’s election interference and undermine his legitimacy, Bloomberg News reported in August.
Attorney-General Pam Bondi directed prosecutors to use a grand jury to investigate claims made by director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that officials working under former president Barack Obama “manufactured and politicised intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump”.
Mr Trump’s allies have been demanding the Justice Department investigate what they believe is a sweeping conspiracy against Mr Trump that began with the Russia investigation
A new grand jury will be empanelled in Florida in January that Mr Trump allies expect will be used to investigate the allegations of a long-running Democratic conspiracy against the President, Bloomberg News has reported.
It was not immediately clear what new ground the investigation might cover compared with previous look-back efforts.
During Mr Trump’s first term, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel, Mr John Durham, to investigate whether government officials broke laws in how they conducted the Russia investigation. Although Mr Trump and his allies claimed at the time that Mr Durham would uncover a grand conspiracy, he never did.
In the end, Mr Durham obtained a guilty plea from one low-level FBI lawyer who falsified part of a surveillance application. Mr Durham used a grand jury to bring charges against two non-governmental individuals, but they were quickly acquitted at trials. BLOOMBERG
