I have to confess that I have been one of the multitude complaining loudly that Dept of Justice under AG Merrick Garland seems to be letting Trump and his band of fascist coup plotters go untouched while prosecuting only the low-level thugs who attacked the Capitol on Jan 6.
However, it appears as though DIJ is moving along . . . here’s a compilation of DOJ activity involving Trump’s inner circle . . . the noose may be tightening around Trump. Remember: Trump has been the head of a criminal enterprise for 40 years, similar to a Mafia family, so, there’s no reason to believe his political “family” is no different. When DOJ goes after the Mob, they start at the bottom and work up, which appears to be exactly what’s going on here.
RUDY GIULIANI
April 13, 2021: SDNY obtains historic and prospective cell site warrant for Rudy.
April 21, 2021: Warrants for Ukraine-related investigation approved. This was Lisa Monaco’s first day as Deputy Attorney General. The temporal scope on the Ukraine warrants extends from August 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019.
April 28, 2021: Warrants executed. Around 18 devices seized, of which 16 can be cracked.
September 3, 2021: SDNY argues that the privilege review for Rudy’s devices must be conducted pre-scope (meaning, before just the information on Ukraine is identified) and generously offers to limit temporal range of review to items post-dating January 1, 2018, significantly expanding the temporal scope of the privilege review vis a vis the known warrants.
September 16, 2021: Judge Paul Oetken approves SDNY’s desired treatment of Rudy’s phones, meaning anything that post-dates January 1, 2018, regardless of topic, will be reviewed for privilege.
November 2, 2021: Special Master releases contents of 7 devices, for which privilege review extended through seizure. 2,223 items were provided to the government.
January 15, 2022: WaPo quotes Rob Jenkins, who represents a number of Proud Boy defendants, explaining that DOJ is asking about Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani’s ties to militia members.
January 19, 2022: Special Master releases contents through April 2021 of one phone amounting to over 25,000 items, as well as eight other devices for which the privilege review extended from December 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019.
April 12, 2022: In guise of coming to a final decision on the Ukraine influence-peddling that hasn’t happened yet, DOJ asks Rudy to unlock last several devices.
May 26, 2022: Subpoenas (CNN, NYT) relating to the fake elector plot ask for information on:
- Rudy Giuliani,
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Boris Epshteyn
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Justin Clark
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John Eastman
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Bernard Kerik
- Joe diGenova
- Victoria Toensing
- Jenna Ellis
- Kenneth Chesebro
ROGER STONE
March 17, 2021: In response to motion for bail for Connie Meggs, DOJ includes picture showing both she and Graydon Young worked a Roger Stone event on December 14, 2020.
June 23, 2021: Oath Keeper Graydon Young, who interacted with Stone in Florida in December 2020, enters into a cooperation agreement.
June 30, 2021: Oath Keeper Mark Grods, who worked the Willard the morning of the insurrection, enters into a cooperation agreement.
September 15, 2021: Oath Keeper Jason Dolan, who guarded Stone in both Florida and DC, enters into a cooperation agreement.
January 15, 2022: WaPo quotes Rob Jenkins, who represents a number of Proud Boy defendants, explaining that DOJ is asking about Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani’s ties to militia members.
March 2, 2022: Oath Keeper Joshua James, who oversaw security of Stone on the morning of January 6 and reported back frequently, enters into a cooperation agreement. James also provides statement to NYPD inquiry of Stone associate Sal Greco.
March 4, 2022: WaPo describes hours of documentary video tracking Stone’s events leading up to the attack, including details from a Friends of Stone list on which Stone started planning Stop the Steal immediately after the election. Both DOJ and January 6 obtained the video.
May 2022: NYT describes more about the FOS list, confirming that Owen Shroyer, Enrique Tarrio, Stewart Rhodes, and Ivan Raiklin took part. By June 23, 2022, DOJ had extracted the contents of Shroyer, Tarrio, and Rhodes’ phones.
SIDNEY POWELL
June 2021: Nikki Fried announces Sidney Powell’s Defending the Republic had been raising funds in Florida without registering as a charity.
August 24, 2021: Powell’s fund settles with Florida.
September 2021: AUSA Molly Gaston issues subpoena for records relating to Sidney Powell’s grift going back to November 2, 2020.
November 30, 2021: Several outlets report on subpoenas relating to Powell. (WaPo, Daily Beast)
January 22, 2022: Powell’s attorney claims to be “cooperating” with DOJ investigation.
June 22, 2022: Months after BuzzFeed and Mother Jones report on the scheme, DOJ asks Judge Amit Mehta to conduct conflict inquiry regarding Powell’s funding of Oath Keeper defendants’ defense.
ALEX JONES
April 13, 2021: Jones videographer Sam Montoya arrested on trespassing charges related to January 6.
August 19, 2021: Jones sidekick and January 5 speaker Owen Shroyer arrested for violating a non-prosecution agreement by trespassing; Shroyer did not enter the Capitol.
January 20, 2022: Judge Tim Kelly denies Shroyer’s motion to dismiss, effectively agreeing with DOJ that Shroyer (and so Alexander and Jones) weren’t invited by cops to the East steps and didn’t de-escalate the crowd.
May 5, 2022: Montoya asks for 60 day extension to discuss plea deal.
May 9, 2022: At status hearing, Shroyer attorney Norm Pattis describes talks of a plea deal.
June 14, 2022: Long-time Jones attorney Norm Pattis, who is representing Owen Shroyer, joins Joe Biggs’ defense team.
June 23, 2022: DOJ provides Shroyer unscoped contents of his phone, to provide scoped contents later.
ALI ALEXANDER
January 25, 2021: Brandon Straka arrested for trespassing and civil disorder. Straka was a key player in the Stop the Steal movement, playing a key role at the riot at the TCF vote counting center in Michigan after the election, spoke at the January 5 rally, sat next to Mike Flynn at Trump’s speech, and stopped at the Willard before heading to the riot. Straka was also on Alexander’s Stop the Steal LISTSERV.
February 17, 2021: First FBI interview with Straka.
March 25, 2021: Second interview with Straka.
December 8, 2021: In released testimony for an appearance before J6C, Alexander told a story that DOJ had already debunked in the Owen Shroyer case. For this and other appearances, Alexander was represented by Paul Kamenar, the same attorney that guided Andrew Miller through stalling the Mueller investigation for a year.
January 5, 2022: Third interview with Straka.
January 13, 2022: DOJ includes sealed cooperation memo in Straka’s sentencing memo.
June 24, 2022: Ali Alexander testifies before grand jury.
June 28, 2022: Alexander returns to DC.
JEFFREY CLARK
January 25, 2021: DOJ IG Michael Horowitz opens probe into whether current or former DOJ officials attempted to overturn the election.
July 26, 2021: Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer writes former top Trump DOJ officials permitting them to testify on efforts, led by but not limited to Clark, to involve DOJ in an attempt to overturn the election. This was the first of a series of Executive Privilege review waives DOJ asked Biden to make and roughly coincided with the delayed institution of a Contact Policy preventing Biden from learning about investigations.
June 22, 2022: Agents search Clark’s home and seize his devices. Per CNN, DOJ IG coordinated with the wider investigation into January 6.
JOHN EASTMAN
March 28, 2022: Judge David Carter rules it is more likely than not that Eastman and Trump conspired to obstruct the vote certification.
May 26, 2022: Subpoenas (CNN, NYT) relating to the fake elector plot ask for information on:
- Rudy Giuliani,
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Boris Epshteyn
-
Justin Clark
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John Eastman
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Bernard Kerik
- Joe diGenova
- Victoria Toensing
- Jenna Ellis
- Kenneth Chesebro
June 28, 2022: FBI seizes Eastman’s phone, gets him to unlock it.
FAKE ELECTORS
Fall 2021: According to NYT, Thomas Windom assigned, “to pull together some of the disparate strands of the elector scheme.”
January 25, 2022: Lisa Monaco confirms on the record that DOJ is investigating the fake elector scheme.
May 26, 2022: Subpoenas (CNN, NYT) relating to the fake elector plot ask for information on:
- Rudy Giuliani,
-
Boris Epshteyn
-
Justin Clark
-
John Eastman
-
Bernard Kerik
- Joe diGenova
- Victoria Toensing
- Jenna Ellis
- Kenneth Chesebro
June 22, 2022: DOJ takes a slew of overt steps in their investigation into the fake electors:
- WaPo: Law enforcement activity targeting GA lawyer David Carver and Trump staffer Thomas Lane, subpoenas for GA GOP Chair David Shafer and Michigan fake electors
- NYT: Subpoenas to Trump campaign aide in MI, Shawn Flynn, as well as Carver, Lane, and Shafer
- CBS: Search warrants for NV GOP Chair Michael McDonald and Secretary James DeGraffenreid
- CNN: Subpoena for Shafer, a warrant for David Carver’s phone, information on a GA Signal chat
ALSO — MORE GOOD NEWS: On July 15, we learned that DOJ has rented office space and is bringing in assistant federal prosecutors from around the country to beef up their group that is investigating the Jan 6 attempted coup.
DOJ takes aim at Trump world — Brings in more firepower!!
The bombshell revelations of the House’s Jan. 6 hearings have the Department of Justice putting more manpower—and more real estate—toward its investigations of figures close to ex-President Donald Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper revealed the law enforcement agency has expanded the roster, office space, and mission of the band of attorneys digging into Republicans potentially complicit in the bloody attack on the Capitol last year. The news comes after the latest rounds of congressional hearings disclosed that a host of GOP congressmen sought pardons in connections with their activism to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, and after feds raided the home of ex-DOJ lawyer Jeffrey Clark, who the House committee found had assisted Trump in pressuring the agency to falsely claim fraud in the Georgia election results. But the Journal also reported DOJ had grown frustrated with the committee for failing to turn over transcripts of its interviews, particularly with Republicans who participated in false pro-Trump elector slates in states Biden won.