After all, only DOJ has the power to file federal criminal accusations, and the Commission’s presentation had a different goal than proving guilty of a particular crime beyond reasonable doubt. The evidence presented so far is, at least, the actions of the former president against various federal crimes.
In the last few months, there have been some suggestions that the DOJ’s focus has approached Trump and those who worked directly with him to overturn the outcome of the 2020 elections, despite the lack of clear guidance from the Justice Department itself. It was seen.
It turns out that both Short and Jacob appeared before a grand jury investigating a related crime on January 6. This is big news for several reasons.
First, Short and Jacob are important witnesses. Because they were high-ranking officials who were likely to know everything Pence knew. The DOJ needs to hear directly from Pence about the best non-hearsay evidence of Trump’s influence scheme-and the superior subpoena power that the DOJ has is different from the previous January 6 committee. That means prosecutors can do that-but in the meantime, Short and Jacob are the two best people to collect testimony.
Second, their testimony is the first sign that a grand jury is listening to the witnesses’ testimony. This usually occurs after the prosecutor collects written and physical evidence through subpoenas and warrants, and after the investigator and the prosecutor conduct an informal interview with a potential witness. This may mean that the investigation is underway and has entered a more advanced stage than previously known.
However, the investigation refused to accept the voter count on January 6 or pressured then Vice President Pence to violate the Electoral Voting Act by improperly delaying it. Including some of the plans involved, Trump’s role is much more central.
A DOJ criminal investigation, including a pressure campaign against Pence and its goal of interfering with Congress’s obligations on January 6, must reach Trump.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about whether Mr. Trump will be prosecuted for his actions around the 2020 elections and around January 6, but DOJ is actively investigating those actions. That is almost certain. For our country, this is a good thing, as is the apparent professionalism and integrity of the current Department of Justice.
Source: www.cnn.com
