That news, first reported by the Washington Post, was confirmed to CBS News by a US government official familiar with the investigation and a source with knowledge of what was presented by the Justice Department to a grand jury. It is not clear that Trump himself is a target of the investigation, only that prosecutors are raising questions about him and his aides. One part of the investigation concerns efforts to switch electors won by President Biden in several battleground states with bogus electors who supported Trump. Another examines the actions around Jan. 6, when thousands of Trump supporters, many armed, occupied Capitol Hill on the day Congress was to count the ballots and confirm Mr. Biden’s 2020 victory. According to the source close to the grand jury witnesses, among the topics of interest to federal prosecutors are Trump’s conversations with law professor John Eastman, who had a plan to try to implicate Vice President Mike Pence in trying to detain Trump in charge. , and the pressure on Pence, who presided over the Jan. 6 ballot count. The news follows multiple actions by law enforcement targeting those allegedly linked to Trump’s efforts to stay in office — including the seizure of Eastman’s phone and the recent raid on the former Justice Department official’s home in Virginia , Geoffrey Clarke. Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff, testified in a Washington, D.C., court last week after being subpoenaed as part of the investigation, a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News. The Post’s report on the Justice Department’s investigation was published Tuesday, hours after the former president returned to Washington for the first time since he left at the end of his presidency in late January 2021. “I always say I ran the second time and I did much better,” Trump said at an event at the America First Policy Institute. “And you know what, that’s going to be a story for a long time. What a shame that was. But you know what, we might have to do it again.” The Jan. 6 select committee considered these issues separately in a series of eight public hearings. Among the leaked information is Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers’ testimony about a plan by Trump and his allies to replace Arizona Biden voters with fake Trump voters. Bowers denied participating in the plot, despite pressure from Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. The commission also uncovered an attempt to deliver fake Wisconsin ballots to Pence on Jan. 6. Pence, who was urged by Trump and his allies to reject ballots from battleground states won by Mr. Biden, also refused to join the plan. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke only broadly about the investigation, reiterating in an interview on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” on Tuesday that the Justice Department is “moving urgently to learn everything we can about this period and bring everyone to justice.” justice who was criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another.” He gave no indication that Trump, a former president, would receive special consideration given that status and the possibility of him running again. “We seek justice without fear or favor,” Garland replied. “We intend to hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for the events around January 6, for any attempt to interfere with the legitimate transfer of power from one administration to another, that is what we are doing. We do not pay attention to other matters related to this.” Robert Legare contributed to this report.
Attack on the US Capitol
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