For months, we have been talking mainly about the investigation of the congressional committee into the assault on the Capitol. But the most dangerous for Donald Trump is that carried out in parallel by the Department of Justice, which has already charged hundreds of supporters of the former president. And according to several US media outlets, federal prosecutors have started asking questions about Donald Trump’s actions, including Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, who testified before a grand jury last week.
At this stage, it is not known whether Donald Trump is directly targeted by a judicial investigation. But as part of the overall investigation into January 6, 2021, the federal justice system is interested in the actions taken by Donald Trump to interfere with the results of the presidential election, report it New York Times. According to CNNprosecutors have also obtained a warrant to examine the phone of attorney John Eastman, considered the main architect of efforts to replace voters validated by several disputed states.
New congressional hearings in September
On the ABC channel, the former chief of staff of Mike Pence, Marc Short, refused to give details on the subjects discussed in front of a grand jury. But he denounced the violent actions of supporters of Donald Trump, some of whom found themselves a few meters from the ex-vice president, singing “Hang Mike Pence”. Short praised the action of the Secret Service guards, saying that if the rioters had succeeded in approaching the elected officials, there could have been “a bloodbath”.
The Department of Justice investigation is not linked to the political investigation of the parliamentary committee. The latter completed a first round of public hearings in July. Faced with “new information”, new hearings will take place in September. They may confirm – or not – the allegations of a former assistant to Trump’s chief of staff. Cassidy Hutchinson claimed that Donald Trump intended to go to the Capitol, and that he knew, via his security service, that some of his supporters were armed.
The commission will then issue its report and could recommend criminal charges against Donald Trump. This is only an advisory opinion: it is the attorney general (Minister of Justice) Merrick Garland who will decide whether there are grounds to indict the former tenant of the White House, who is teasing in recent days on a new candidacy in 2024. Garland insisted this week: “no one is above the law”.