Gradually, the U.S. Department of Justice seems to be following up on the work of the January 6th Committee. Now they’ve issued a subpoena to Pat Cipollone, who was White House Counsel during Donald Trump’s term — and this could be another step towards real criminal consequences for the former president.
[Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images]
The DOJ has been doing an excellent job of not showing its hand in the investigation, to such a degree that there are constant questions about whether or not the investigation is progressing at all — but this subpoena could be a significant development.
According to ABC, multiple sources report that Cipollone has received a subpoena and that his attorneys will be negotiating an appearance, with considerations for executive privilege and exactly how that applies under the circumstances.
With regard to the January 6th Committee’s investigation, Cipollone spoke to the Committee first on an informal basis, but after receiving a subpoena, was willing to testify more fully, so there’s nothing to suggest he’d be anything but compliant with the subpoena from the Grand Jury.
Adam Kinzinger says this could be a serious problem for Trump.
“This is probably bad for former President Trump.”
— Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) reacts to former Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone being subpoenaed by a grand jury pic.twitter.com/xs7pw8EQoC
“This is probably bad for former President Trump…The Justice Department knows better what they can, in essence, get around, when it comes to saying executive privilege, so I hope they go at that judiciously…There’s no reason to protect particularly criminal behavior or what could potentially be criminal behavior behind executive privilege. We’ll see where this goes but there’s no doubt that this investigation has developed further along than where we either knew it was or thought it was a few months ago.”
Steph Bazzle reports on social issues and religion for Hill Reporter. She focuses on stories that speak to everyone's right to practice what they believe in and receive the support of their communities and government officials. You can reach her at Steph@HillReporter.com
