U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered federal prosecutors to present evidence to a grand jury examining claims that members of former President Barack Obama’s administration falsified intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department confirmed that a prosecutor has been tasked with laying out the department’s findings, but it has not identified potential defendants or the location of the panel. The criminal referral came last month from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who declassified documents she says cast doubt on the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment that Moscow sought to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. Bondi subsequently created a departmental “strike force” and has now moved the case to the grand-jury phase, enabling subpoenas and witness testimony. Prosecutors expect to begin calling witnesses in the coming weeks, though no timetable for possible indictments has been set. The investigation revisits terrain previously explored by Special Counsel John Durham, whose multiyear inquiry produced three criminal cases—two ending in acquittal and one in a misdemeanor plea. The latest move is likely to intensify scrutiny of the Justice Department’s independence, as it weighs nearly decade-old conduct that has already undergone extensive congressional and prosecutorial review.
U.S. Justice Department to move forward on investigation into Trump-Russia probe https://t.co/g4WIlZpFMi https://t.co/hTW22DEhgv
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury investigation into allegations that members of former President Barack Obama's administration manufactured intelligence on Russia's interference in the 2016 elections https://t.co/belwaH7rMt
La fiscal general de EE.UU., Pam Bondi, ordenó al Departamento de Justicia iniciar una investigación con un gran jurado sobre una supuesta conspiración contra el presidente Donald Trump para deslegitimar su victoria de 2016. https://t.co/ovfWT95Kgw