The Justice Department is escalating an investigation targeting what prosecutors describe as an intelligence community conspiracy against President Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. New subpoenas are being issued to former government officials to provide testimony before a Florida grand jury. Defense lawyers for witnesses have been contacted in recent days notifying them of forthcoming subpoenas, though the total number of witnesses and their identities remain unclear as of the reporting date.
The investigation centers on Trump’s longtime grievance regarding the U.S. government response to Russian interference in the 2016 election and an intelligence community assessment that Moscow conducted interference on Trump’s behalf. Trump has characterized the government’s scrutiny of his campaign as a “deep state” conspiracy to delegitimize his electoral victory. While investigators have previously conducted numerous voluntary interviews, the grand jury subpoenas represent an effort to secure sworn testimony from witnesses.
Former CIA Director John Brennan is identified as a target of the investigation, with his lawyers informed that prosecutors are examining whether he provided false testimony to Congress, a claim he has repeatedly denied. The Justice Department previously subpoenaed witnesses before a Washington grand jury regarding Brennan but subsequently withdrew those subpoenas in favor of voluntary interviews.
The investigation is operating from Florida under the direction of Joe diGenova, a Reagan-era prosecutor brought into government service in April as a counselor to the attorney general. DiGenova has publicly claimed Trump was victimized by intelligence community conspiracy. The investigation’s scope appears expansive, with prosecutors seeking interviews with law enforcement officials involved in the 2022 FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property that recovered classified documents. Operations are based in Fort Pierce, within the jurisdiction of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee.
Prior investigations by the FBI, Justice Department, and an inspector general examining the 2016 Russia probe found insufficient evidence of criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia, though they documented campaign interest in benefiting from Moscow’s activities. Those investigations identified errors by agents but concluded there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by senior law enforcement officials or an anti-Trump conspiracy.
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