The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly seized the phones of two top advisers to former President Donald Trump and issued subpoenas to 40 people associated with the former president as the criminal investigation into his alleged attempts to overturn the election appears to be ramping up.
The New York Times reported that the new moves by the DOJ represent “some of the most aggressive steps the department has taken thus far in its criminal investigation” into the events of the riot on January 6, 2021.
The report said that phones were seized from attorney Boris Epshteyn and strategist Mike Roman, who were allegedly connected to a scheme to install fake pro-Trump electors in swing states that President Joe Biden won.
The report also said that former Trump social media director Dan Scavino and former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik were two other individuals who were subpoenaed.
The subpoenas sought “records or communications from people who organized, spoke at or provided security for Mr. Trump’s rally at the Ellipse,” The New York Times reported. “They also requested information about any members of the executive and legislative branches who may have taken part in planning or executing the rally, or tried to ‘obstruct, influence, impede or delay’ the certification of the presidential election.”
Subpoenas have already been issued to state-level lawmakers in states where Trump associates allegedly sought to install fake pro-Trump electors.
Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and Trump ally Jeffrey Clark reportedly received subpoenas earlier this summer.
Trump is currently facing several criminal investigations with the investigation into his handling of classified U.S. government records receiving the most attention following the FBI’s raid on his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago.
A separate federal grand jury issued subpoenas in connection with an investigation into Trump’s Save America PAC.
The subpoenas sought information about the inner workings of the organization as the former president solicited millions of dollars while making spurious claims about the election.
The investigation is believed to be looking into “whether [Save America PAC] had duped donors through misleading appeals about election fraud.”
Trump is also facing a criminal investigation related to his business dealings in New York and a criminal investigation in Georgia over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.