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US Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the Justice Department to investigate allegations that political opponents of President Donald Trump manufactured intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Bondi has directed a prosecutor to submit evidence to a grand jury after referrals from the Trump administration’s top intelligence official.
The grand jury will consist of members of the public who will ultimately decide whether formal charges will be filed.
While it is not yet clear who exactly might be the target of any grand jury activity, and what the charges would be, sources familiar with the matter told US media outlets that the allegations pertain to members of former President Barack Obama’s administration.
The development is likely to exacerbate concerns that the justice department is being used to achieve political ends given Trump’s longstanding frustration over the investigation into Russian election interference.
It has emerged at a time when the Trump administration is facing growing criticism over its handling of documents from the sex trafficking probe into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The initial, years-old investigation into Russian election interference resulted in the appointment of a special counsel, Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign.
The inquiry shadowed much of Trump’s first term in office and he has long focused his anger on senior intelligence and law enforcement officials, including ex-FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired in May 2017, and former CIA Director John Brennan.
The justice department appeared to confirm an investigation into both men in an unusual statement last month but offered no details.
Obama dismisses ‘treason’ claim
Multiple special counsels, congressional committees and the Justice Department’s own inspector general have documented a multi-pronged effort by Russia to interfere in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf.
This included a hack-and-leak dump of Democratic emails and a covert social media operation aimed at swaying public opinion.
Moscow has long denied attempting to interfere in US elections.
The issue has come to the fore again in recent weeks with the US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and other Trump allies releasing previously classified records that they hope will cast doubt on the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election and prove an attempt by the Obama administration to falsely connect Trump to Russia.
Gabbard last month accused Obama and his national security team of a “years-long coup and treasonous conspiracy against the American people”, claiming that they had fabricated intelligence to taint Trump’s election win in 2016.
Shortly afterwards, the justice department announced the creation of a strike force to assess Gabbard’s claims about “alleged weaponisation of the US intelligence community”.
Trump seized on Gabbard’s comments and accused Obama of “treason”.
In response, a spokesperson for Obama said late last month that “these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
Additional sources • AP
