A new report from New York Magazine documents how the United States Department of Justice has been waging what it describes as a "largely secret legal battle" that could soon "open a floodgate of damaging information" about former President Donald Trump.
Even though the DOJ's investigation into Trump's actions leading up to the January 6th Capitol riots has taken a backseat to its investigation into Trump's refusal to return top-secret government documents despite being given a lawful subpoena, New York Magazine's Ankush Khardori notes that there has been a recent flurry of behind-the-scenes activity that suggests the DOJ could spring into action shortly after next week's midterm elections.
Among other things, Khardori notes that the DOJ has breached Trump's bubble of executive privilege by securing the testimony of former White House officials Greg Jacob and Marc Short.
"At first blush, this may seem like a fight among lawyers with esoteric stakes concerning the scope of executive privilege, but there are significant consequences if the Justice Department successfully continues down this path," Khardori argues. "Prosecutors could obtain fulsome information about what Trump himself (as opposed to the people around him) was actually saying and doing in the run-up to and during the January 6 siege."
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Additionally, Khardori writes, Trump may not be able to run out the clock by running for president if the DOJ keeps up its current winning streak.
"For the time being, however, prosecutors appear to be getting closer to Trump," he writes. "His lawyers are fighting the government hard, but should they ultimately lose their bid to use executive privilege to shield him from the investigation, he will be in the most legally perilous position of his life and potentially be criminally charged by the Justice Department in the not-too-distant future."
