DOJ issues 40 new subpoenas, seizes 2 phones in Jan. 6 probe

The Justice Department issued roughly 40 subpoenas over the past week and seized the phones of two top Trump advisors — a dramatic move in the criminal probe into the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 riot.

The department issued the subpoenas to close allies of former President Donald Trump and seized the phones of longtime Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and campaign strategist Mike Roman, the New York Times reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the probe.

Federal agents seized the two men’s phones as evidence last week, the sources said.

Both are suspected to have been involved in an alleged scheme to use false slates of electors to overturn the state’s 2020 election results and keep former President Donald Trump in office.

Neither responded to the Times’ request for comments.

The Justice Department subpoenaed a varied group of Trump allies from low-level aides to his most senior advisors, the report said.

Trump’s former social media director Dan Scavino and former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik — who promoted baseless claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election — were among those reportedly subpoenaed.

Many of the subpoenas seek information regarding the 2020 “fake electors” plot to submit slates of electors supporting Trump from swing states that were actually won by President Joe Biden.

Prior subpoenas related to the scheme sought information on lawyers allegedly involved like Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark. Federal investigators seized the phones of Eastman and Clark around the same time.

They also subpoenaed Republican legislators in Pennsylvania last month related to the fake electors plot.

However, some of the subpoenas focus on the activities of the Save America political action committee created by Trump following the election and its fundraising actions, the Times reported. The new development invites speculation about money Trump collected under the guise of fighting unfounded election fraud.

The Justice Department probe into Trump and his camp’s actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2020, comes as the department also investigates the former president for his removal of classified documents from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence.

It’s also separate from the special House committee’s investigation of Jan. 6 — though at least some of the 40 new subpoenas also requested records that turned over to the House committee be turned over in the criminal probe, according to the Times.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the paper’s findings, the publication said.