DOJ's Jan. 6 probe zeroes in on the former POTUS, aka Putin's useful idiot

DOJ's Jan. 6 probe zeroes in on the former POTUS, aka Putin's useful idiot

Federal prosecutors have reviewed
Trump officials' phone records and questioned witnesses
​

The Justice Department's criminal investigation into the January 6 attack has become increasingly focused on former President Donald Trump's conduct related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Prosecutors have zeroed in on the former president's conduct following his loss to President Joe Biden, as well as the extent to which Trump was involved in his outside attorneys' efforts to substitute certified electors in states that Biden won with Trump supporters, the outlet reported.

Two people familiar with the matter told the newspaper investigators before a grand jury asked recent witnesses about conversations with Trump, his lawyers, and his allies. Prosecutors have inquired about meetings the former president held in December 2020 and January 2021; his attempts to convince Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the election results; and the level to which Trump is implicated in his attorneys' fake-elector scheme.

In interviews this month with two senior aides to Pence, investigators inquired about their knowledge of Trump's actions, The Post reported. Former Pence chief of staff Marc Short testified in front of a grand jury last week. Another aide, Greg Jacob, was also recently deposed.

The Justice Department's investigation — which is separate from the House Select Committee's probe into January 6 — has been closing in on Trump for months, according to The Post, which reported federal investigators in April obtained phone records belonging to top Trump administration officials and aides, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

 

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top adviser to then-President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows,
has recently cooperated with the Department of Justice investigation into the events of Jan. 6, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Hutchinson had publicly testified before the Jan. 6 committee earlier this month, spending some two hours recounting details about what she said went on behind the scenes at the White House leading up to, during, and after the Jan. 6 attack.

Her account included descriptions of events she both witnessed directly and other events she said were described to her.