By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Recent grand jury subpoenas for records related to the U.S. intelligence community’s work on Russian interference in the 2016 election, a topic that President Donald Trump has long demanded prosecutions on, are likely to yield little to no new information for prosecutors, according to three sources close to the investigation.
Prosecutors this month issued demands for information from several former intelligence and law enforcement officials related to a 2017 assessment from Democratic former President Barack Obama’s administration that Russia intervened to aid then-candidate Trump and harm his 2016 opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The subpoenas, more than two dozen of which were issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, pointed to an intensifying Justice Department inquiry into how the U.S. government assessed alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government, long a fixation of Trump and his allies who have dismissed such claims as a “hoax.”
But the demands relate to issues that have already been scrutinized in multiple Justice Department investigations and seek information in possession of officials who have been out of the U.S. government for years. The three sources familiar with the probe told Reuters that at least some of the recipients are likely to tell prosecutors they have minimal or no responsive material.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
‘IT’S REVISIONIST HISTORY’
The moves have renewed criticism that the Justice Department is conducting investigations aligned with Trump’s grievances and against perceived adversaries, breaching long-standing norms of independence in federal probes.
“It seizes the news cycle. It’s revisionist history. It’s distraction. It’s everything rolled into one,” said Kel McClanahan, a lawyer specializing in national security cases.
The subpoenas were sent to former officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who Trump has long assailed for their connections to the Russia probe. Trump and his allies have maintained that the Russia investigation was a politically motivated effort that improperly marred his first term.
The same issues were previously examined in investigations by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog and Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed during Trump’s first term to scrutinize the origins of the Russia investigation. Those probes found some faults in the initial investigation but did not uncover a conspiracy to improperly target Trump.
“By serving subpoenas, they are able to say they are doing something tangible, but it seems unlikely to result in anything,” said Greg Brower, the former U.S. attorney for Nevada under Republican former President George W. Bush.
It is not clear what potential crimes prosecutors are investigating. Some Trump allies have floated the notion of a broad anti-Trump conspiracy that includes the FBI’s 2016 Russia investigation and potentially more recent probes by Special Counsel Jack Smith into Trump’s retention of classified records and efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
FLORIDA GRAND JURY
Prosecutors have secured permission to convene a grand jury beginning in January in Fort Pierce, Florida, where Trump faced a now-dismissed criminal case accusing him of illegally holding onto classified papers. Trump ally Jason Reding Quinones, who leads the U.S. attorney’s office there, signed off on the recent subpoenas and has also started a review of documents from Smith’s investigation.
Such an investigation would face several legal obstacles, including showing links between separate investigations of Trump that focused on different issues and proving officials had criminal intent. Legal experts questioned whether such a case could be brought in South Florida when much of the intelligence and law enforcement activity in the Russia investigation took place in or near Washington.
Trump-nominated CIA Director John Ratcliffe and U.S. Representative Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, have each referred Brennan, who led the CIA under Obama, for criminal prosecution this year.
Former intelligence and law enforcement officials have long maintained that issues surrounding Russian interference were handled appropriately.
Investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and a Republican-led Senate committee confirmed the finding that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump and a CIA review Ratcliffe ordered this year did not dispute that assessment.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Alistair Bell)
