‘They Can Crank Up Charges On Almost Anybody’: Jan. 6 Defense Panicking Over Signs Of Coming Trumpworld Indictments
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CNN sources say the Department of Justice is preparing for a “flurry” of post-midterm activity, which has at least one member of the defense calling it a “scary thing” because the DoJ “crank up charges on almost anybody.”
CNN reporting teams have been breaking scoop after scoop on the January 6 investigations in Congress and at the Department of Justice, where political jeopardy becomes a criminal liability. But there’s mixed news in the latest report — from the team of Evan Perez, Katelyn Polantz, and Jeremy Herb — which is a deep dive into the state of the DoJ inquiry going into the midterms.
The bad news for former President Donald Trump — and encouraging news for those rooting for him to be charged — is that the Justice Department is preparing for a burst of activity after the midterms:
In the weeks leading up to the election, the Justice Department has observed the traditional quiet period of not making any overt moves that may have political consequences. But behind the scenes, investigators have remained busy, using aggressive grand jury subpoenas and secret court battles to compel testimony from witnesses in both the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of national security documents kept at his Palm Beach home.
Now federal investigators are planning for a burst of post-election activity in Trump-related investigations. That includes the prospect of indictments of Trump’s associates – moves that could be made more complicated if Trump declares a run for the presidency.
“They can crank up charges on almost anybody if they wanted to,” said one defense attorney working on January 6-related matters, who added defense lawyers have “have no idea” who ultimately will be charged.
“This is the scary thing,” the attorney said.
The mixed news for both parties is also the headline item for the piece: “Justice Department officials have discussed whether a Trump candidacy would create the need for a special counsel to oversee two sprawling federal investigations related to the former president.”
Many inferences can be drawn from this; the most innocuous of which is that this would be a prudent thing to consider under any circumstances. But it could also indicate that an indictment of Trump is not on the pre-2024 horizon, and as the article notes, special counsels have not fared all that well of late.
