Those of us on the Left side of the political playing field in the US (and some on the Right, as well) have long been left to wonder if ex-President Donald Trump would ever truly face justice and accountability for his seemingly endless crimes. When the January 6th Capitol attack took place, it only further solidified that rock in the pit of our stomachs that was telling us he never would.
But things seem to be changing. FAST.
According to bombshell, breaking new reporting from CNN this evening, the legal team representing the one-term, twice-impeached, scandal-ridden former president is now officially in “direct communication” with officials from the US Department of Justice regarding the DOJ’s criminal investigation into Trump’s behavior and actions in the days leading up to and on January 6th, 2021.
CNN notes that this massive development marks “the first sign of talks between the two sides as the criminal probe into January 6, 2021, accelerates.”
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“The talks revolve around whether Trump would be able to shield conversations he had while he was president from federal investigators,” the report reveals, including “whether any communications that witnesses from the Trump West Wing had with the former president can be kept from a federal criminal grand jury under Trump’s claims of executive privilege.”
There has been a general consensus among legal experts in the nation that the concept of executive privilege only pertains to a sitting US president. But nevertheless, we have seen the DOJ decline the option to formally prosecute certain key former top Trump officials, such as Donald’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, despite a recommendation from Congress to convict him on charges of contempt for his refusal to comply with subpoenas issued against him by the House Select Committee — the same charges that the Justice Department did choose to move forward with against the likes of Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro.
CNN reports, “Mark Meadows could be a key witness.”
“Trump has specifically been counseled to cut contact with his former White House chief of staff,” the report goes on to explain, adding, “whose actions leading up to and on the day of the US Capitol insurrection have been deeply scrutinized by the House panel.”
“In recent months the former President has ignored advice from some of his advisers to avoid speaking with former and current aides who have become entangled in the House select committee’s probe into January 6 and may become part of the criminal investigation, people familiar with the matter told CNN,” the report reads.
NYU professor of law and former Special Counsel at the Dept. of Defense, Ryan Goodman, weighed in on the matter with a particularly interesting theory based on the bombshell new development: “Sounds like Trump team worried Meadows will flip and cooperate with DOJ.”
Read the full exclusive, breaking report from CNN here.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
