US Justice Department seeks Florida grand jury testimony in Trump conspiracy probe

The US Justice Department has begun seeking grand jury testimony in Florida over claims of a conspiracy against Donald Trump. The move signals a tougher phase in an inquiry that still lacks clear charges or named witnesses.

In Short

• Former officials have been asked to prepare for possible subpoenas
• Prosecutors are examining whether intelligence officials violated Trump's rights over years
• John Brennan's lawyers say he faces scrutiny over alleged false testimony

The US Justice Department has begun seeking testimony before a Florida grand jury in an investigation centred on claims that members of the intelligence community conspired against President Donald Trump, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Former government officials have been told to expect subpoenas, marking a sharper phase in a year-long inquiry.

The investigation is loosely focused on whether officials who scrutinised Trump over the past decade, including over Russian interference in the 2016 election, violated his rights. It was not immediately clear by Tuesday how many witnesses had received subpoenas, or who they were. The people who confirmed the move spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the grand jury investigation is secret.

Over the past several months, agents and prosecutors have focused heavily on one of Trump's central complaints: the US response to Russian interference in the 2016 election and an intelligence assessment that Moscow acted on Trump's behalf under the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, who spent much of his first term under the shadow of the Russia investigation, has for years attacked that assessment and described it as a "deep state" conspiracy aimed at undermining his 2016 victory.

Investigators looking for possible crimes linked to the intelligence community's response have already carried out several voluntary interviews. The latest subpoenas appear to be an effort to secure sworn testimony before a grand jury. It remains unclear whether anyone will be charged, or over what alleged offence.

Lawyers for former CIA director John Brennan have said they were told he is a target of the investigation, as prosecutors examine whether he gave false testimony to Congress. Brennan and his lawyers have consistently denied that allegation. Last spring, the Justice Department subpoenaed witnesses before a Washington grand jury as part of the Brennan inquiry, but later withdrew those subpoenas and moved back to voluntary interviews.

The investigation is now being run from Florida. In April, the Justice Department brought Joe diGenova, a senior prosecutor from the Reagan administration, back into government as a counsellor to the attorney general to help lead a team of agents and prosecutors. diGenova had earlier asked then-attorney general Pam Bondi to appoint him to the role and has repeatedly said Trump was the victim of an intelligence community conspiracy. He declined to comment on Tuesday when contacted by AP.

Investigators have based themselves in Fort Pierce, Florida, the court district of US District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge who repeatedly appeared sceptical of the classified documents case against him and ultimately dismissed it after ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges had been illegally appointed. Last year, Brennan's lawyers asked the chief judge of the federal court in Florida to stop the investigation from being steered to Cannon, whom they called a "favoured" Trump judge. They have also sued the Trump administration, seeking an order to preserve records from the investigation so Brennan can contest any future prosecution as vindictive and selective.

Trump entered office in 2017 facing scrutiny from intelligence and law enforcement agencies over whether his campaign had conspired with Russia, which stole politically damaging Democratic emails and arranged their release through WikiLeaks as part of a wider interference effort. Special counsel Robert Mueller later found insufficient evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, though his investigation concluded that Russia had interfered extensively in the election and that the campaign had welcomed the prospect of benefiting from Moscow's help.

Later inquiries found several errors and omissions by agents involved in the Russia investigation, but no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by senior law enforcement officials or proof of an anti-Trump conspiracy of the kind prosecutors are now trying to establish. Frustrated by those outcomes, Trump has continued to press for action, and last year Bondi told prosecutors to place evidence before a grand jury after documents were released seeking to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Trump-Russia inquiry.

In summary, the new subpoenas show the Justice Department's effort has moved into a more aggressive stage, with prosecutors in Florida seeking sworn testimony as they pursue claims of a conspiracy against Trump. Even so, the identities of the witnesses, the scope of any evidence and the possibility of charges remain unclear.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends