Federal agents searched a former top Justice Department official’s home and seized records from key Republicans in at least five states linked to Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, in what were clear signs that authorities are ramping up their investigation of associates of the former president.
Authorities on Wednesday searched the Virginia home of Jeffrey Clark, who was known at the Justice Department to champion Mr Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
Agents in recent days also served subpoenas on the Republican Party chairmen of Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, three states that went for President Joe Biden and where Trump allies created slates of “alternate electors” intended to subvert the vote. And Republicans in two other states — Michigan and Pennsylvania — disclosed they had been interviewed by the FBI.
Mr Clark’s home was searched by federal agents shortly before a committee hearing in which he was the focus. Three other former Justice Department officials testified about an extraordinary January 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting at which Mr Trump contemplated naming Mr Clark — who led the department’s civil division — as acting attorney general in place of Jeffrey Rosen, who resisted Mr Trump’s efforts to involve the agency.
Mr Trump relented only when other senior Justice Department officials warned Trump that they would resign if he followed through with his plan to replace Mr Rosen with Mr Clark, a congressional panel heard on Thursday.
A lawyer for Clark did not return an email and phone message from AP seeking comment.
In an interview on Thursday night on Fox News Channel, Mr Clark alleged the timing of the search warrant was “highly politicised” and questioned why his home was searched one day before the congressional hearing.
“It looks highly coincidental and … I just don’t believe in coincidences,” he said.
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Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a former Elections Department employee in Georgia, testifies before the US House committee investigating former president Donald Trump, as her mother, Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman, looks on. Reuters -
Former Fulton County, Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman talks with Metropolitan police officer Harry Dunn, who was assaulted during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Reuters -
US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn hugs Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former Georgia election worker, after she testified during the fourth hearing on the January 6 investigation. Getty / AFP -
Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Secretary of State chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling return from a break. Getty / AFP -
A text message is displayed at a hearing by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. House select committee / AP -
Mike Shirkey, majority leader of the Michigan State Senate, speaks during an interview with the House select committee. House select committee / AP -
A tweet by former president Donald Trump is displayed at a hearing by the House select committee. House select committee / AP -
Rudy Giuliani speaks with the House select committee. House select committee / AP -
Security video from Arizona shows protesters gathering to contest the state's 2020 presidential vote certification. House select committee / AP -
Former president Donald Trump tweeted personal information about public officials. House select committee / AP -
Trump supporters insist that he won the state of Georgia during the 2020 election. House select committee / AP -
Rudy Giuliani tweeted false claims that the Georgia election was stolen. House select committee / AP -
Ruby Freeman, a Georgia poll worker, received death threats after Mr Trump disclosed her name at a rally. House select committee / AP -
A real and a fake certificate of vote for Georgia is displayed at a hearing by the House select committee. House select committee / AP -
A tweet by former president Donald Trump makes a claim of voter fraud in Georgia. House select committee / AP -
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger testifies next to Georgia Secretary of State chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling. Reuters -
An audio recording of a phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Raffensperger is played during the fourth of eight planned public hearings. Reuters -
House select committee members Adam Schiff, Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney listen to testimony. EPA -
Mr Bowers, Mr Raffensperger and Mr Sterling during the fourth hearing. AFP -
Mr Bowers, Mr Raffensperger and Mr Sterling depart after testifying. Reuters
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice on Wednesday delivered grand jury subpoenas to two Republican Party officials in Georgia, as well as to Trump campaign aides in Michigan, Arizona and New Mexico.
The Detroit News reported that a group of Michigan Republicans who signed a certificate falsely claiming to cast the state's electoral votes for Republican Mr Trump in December 2020 are receiving grand jury subpoenas from federal officials. The newspaper quoted several sources.
The Justice Department is investigating whether there was a plot to advance alternative slates of fake electors in battleground states with the goal of overturning the election result.
According to one subpoena seen by Reuters that is focused on the phoney slate of electors in Georgia, investigators are seeking copies of documents from October 2020 related to “any effort, plan or attempt to serve as an elector in favour of Donald J Trump and/or (Vice President) Mike R Pence”.
They also are seeking copies of communications between would-be electors and any federal government employees, as well as communications involving Trump allies, including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.
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Former vice president Mike Pence campaigns with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp at rally in Kennesaw, Georgia, despite former president Donald Trump's support of Mr Kemp's opponent. EPA -
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene during her campaign stop in Georgia. Getty / AFP -
US Senator Raphael Warnock casts his ballot in the state's general primary at a Fulton County polling station in Atlanta, Georgia. Reuters -
Former Republican Senator David Perdue, who is hoping to take over from Brian Kemp as the Governor of Georgia, speaks at a campaign event in Covington. Reuters -
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp during a visit to a gun shop in Smyrna as he pushes for a new state law to loosen requirements to carry a handgun in public. Reuters -
Stacey Abrams addresses a Democratic Party fundraiser in Norcross, Georgia. AP -
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker signs a soda bottle commemorating the 1980 football championship he won with the University of Georgia in Columbus. AP -
Congressman Sanford Bishop, the Democratic incumbent of 30 years, is likely to face his toughest re-election campaign in a decade, with six Republicans running in the May 24 primary in the hopes of challenging the state's senior congressman. AP -
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a Bikers for Trump campaign event held at the Crazy Acres Bar and Grill in Plainville, Georgia. Getty / AFP -
Mr Perdue and Ms Taylor Greene talk during a Bikers for Trump campaign event at the Crazy Acres Bar and Grill in Plainville, Georgia. Getty / AFP -
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie spoke at a campaign event for Governor Brian Kemp on May 17, 2022 in Canton, Georgia. Getty / AFP -
Democratic congressional candidate Marcus Flowers is running for Georgia's 14th seat, which is held by Republican US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. EPA -
Carolyn Bourdeaux will face fellow Democrat Congresswoman Lucy McBath in this year's primary after district lines were redrawn. Atlanta Journal-Constitution / AP -
Ms McBath is facing one of the toughest primaries in Georgia. AP
On Twitter earlier this year, Mr Clark called himself “one of the top targets of the politically motivated J6 committee”.
He is also separately facing investigations by the Justice Department's inspector general, as well as the Washington Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the office that probes attorney misconduct.
