Department of Justice Investigates Trump's Conduct in Jan 6 Probe
A video of President Donald Trump recording a statement on Jan. 7, 2021, is played, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)
Listen to this article here
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Department of Justice has extended their Jan 6 investigation to include witnesses of Donald Trump’s conduct and conversations in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

Two senior aides to former Vice President Mike Pence were questioned in front of a grand jury about conversations with Trump on Friday, according to The Washington Post. Some of the questions focused on substituting Trump allies for electors in states Joe Biden won and dissecting the pressure campaign on then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election.

The witnesses’ questioning came on the same day that former White House strategist and ex-advisor to Trump, Steve Bannon, was found guilty by a federal jury on two counts of contempt of Congress.

On Tuesday, speaking to Lester Holt with NBC Nightly News, Attorney General Merrick Garland said “We will hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer, legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next.”

Garland acknowledged that Justice Department investigators learned new information from the January 6 committee hearings.

To be clear, Trump himself is not yet under criminal investigation by the DOJ. However, the scope of the investigation has appeared to enter Trump’s White House cabinet, a serious turn from those who participated in the attempted insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6.

More than 850 people across all 50 states have been arrested in connection with the attack on the Capitol.

The most recent sentencing for those who participated in the attack came from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Judge Chutkan sentenced 56-year-old Mark Ponder to more than five years in prison for attacking police officers with poles during the riot.

“I wasn’t thinking that day,” Ponder told Judge Chutkan, asking for mercy.

(Department of Justice via AP, still shot of bodycam footage showing Mark Ponder)

Ponder’s 63-month sentence matches the longest term of imprisonment for someone who participated in the riot. Robert Palmer also received a 63-month sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting police at the Capitol. Judge Chutkan also handed down Palmer’s sentence.

Mike Creef is a fighter for equality and justice for all. Growing up bi-racial (Jamaican-American) on the east coast allowed him to experience many different cultures and beliefs that helped give him a...