Federal prosecutors served a subpoena to a personal aide of former President Donald Trump.
William S. Russell, a 31-year-old aide to Mr. Trump who served as a special assistant and the deputy director of presidential advance operations in the White House was subpoenaed in Florida. Russell was one of a small group of White House aides to continue working for Trump following his departure from the Oval Office.
The New York Times reports:
It was not immediately clear what the F.B.I. agents wanted from Mr. Russell; people familiar with the Justice Department's inquiry said he has not yet been interviewed. But a person with knowledge of the F.B.I.'s interest said that it related to the grand jury investigation into events that led to the Capitol attack by Mr. Trump's supporters.
That investigation is said to have focused extensively on the attempts by some of Mr. Trump's advisers and lawyers to create slates of fake electors from swing states. Mr. Trump and his allies wanted Vice President Mike Pence to block or delay certification of the Electoral College results during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 to allow consideration of Trump electors whose votes could have changed the outcome.
It was not immediately clear which of Mr. Trump's other aides the Justice Department may be interested in interviewing. Last week, the former White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and his former deputy, Patrick Philbin, testified before the grand jury investigating the fake elector scheme and related issues.
That effort included legal challenges to the outcomes in a number of states, consideration of proposals to seize voting machines and pressure on the Justice Department to investigate baseless claims of election fraud. As Jan. 6 and the certification of the Electoral College vote neared, the effort focused on pressuring Mr. Pence to use his ceremonial role overseeing the joint session of Congress on that day to give Mr. Trump another chance to reverse the outcome — pressure that Mr. Pence rejected.
Mr. Pence's former chief of staff, Marc Short, and his former general counsel, Greg Jacob, have both appeared before the House panel.
Russell's subpoena signals investigators have expanded their pool of Trump-related individuals in regard to the Jan. 6th, 2021 riot from those who worked to reverse the 2020 election's results to those in the president's “direct orbit.”
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It’s hard for me to believe that all of America isn’t aware of this 6 yr takedown of President Trump! It’s so obvious Who wants to overturn capitalism and replace it with Marxism and communism.