Exclusive: Justice Department issues new subpoena to National Archives for more January 6 documents
By Jamie Gangel and Evan Perez, CNN
The Justice Department has issued a new grand jury subpoena to the National Archives for more documents as part of its investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, two sources familiar with the investigation tell CNN.
This latest subpoena, issued on August 17, is in addition to a subpoena the Department of Justice sent to the Archives earlier this year, requesting the same documents and information that the Archives had previously handed over to the House select committee investigating January 6.
This new subpoena, which has not been previously reported, is understood to request additional documents and data from the Archives, pertaining to a period of time both before and after January 6.
Thomas Windom, an assistant US Attorney, is leading the criminal probe into the effort to impede the transfer of power after the 2020 election, including the potential role played by former President Donald Trump and allies to organize a group of fake electors who could keep Trump in power despite losing the election. The US Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
The subpoena requests that the documents be produced by the end of August.
The new subpoena is the latest indication that the Justice Department is ramping up its investigation and has broadened the scope of its probe into the potential role White House staff played in events leading up to the attack on the Capitol that day.
Last week, CNN and others reported that Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann, who pushed back on efforts by the former President and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the events surrounding January 6.
Other Trump lawyers, including Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin, have also been subpoenaed, and DOJ officials have been gearing up to try to access direct communications with Trump when he was in office, which could set off a legal fight over executive privilege.
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CNN’s Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
