Prosecutors are analyzing Mr. Allied’s plan. Trump to create alternate pro-Trump voter tables to nullify Joseph R. Biden Jr. victory in key states, with a grand federal jury issuing subpoenas to the people involved. This investigation brings prosecutors closer to the inner circle of Mr. Trump than any other investigation.
No mandate or ex-president has ever been tried. Aaron Burr was charged with treason after leaving the post of vice president in a highly politicized White House case led by President Thomas Jefferson, but was acquitted after a sensational trial. Ulysses S. Grant, while president, was arrested for speeding on his horse and pram. Spiro T. Agnew resigned as vice president as part of a guilty plea deal in a corruption case.
The closest to a former president’s indictment came after Richard M. Nixon resigned in the Watergate scandal in 1974, but his successor, Gerald R. Ford, short-circuited the investigation by pre-emptively pardoning him, arguing that the country had to move on. Mr. Clinton, to avoid accusations of perjury after leaving office, agreed to his last full day in the White House an agreement with Mr. Clinton. Ray in which he admitted to giving false testimony under oath about his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky, temporarily handed over his legal license and paid a $ 25,000 fine.
In case the Department of Justice accused Mr. Trump, a trial would be very different from House hearings in a way that affects the scope and pace of any investigation. Investigators should explore thousands of hours of video footage and the full content of the devices and online accounts they’ve accessed to look for evidence to support their case, as well as anything a defense attorney might use to overthrow him. Federal prosecutors are likely to also have to convince the judges of the appellate courts and most of the Supreme Court judges of the validity of their case.
Despite all the pressure the House committee has put on the Justice Department to act, it has refused to share information. In April, the department asked the commission for transcripts of witness interviews, but the court has refused to hand over the documents so that its work can continue.
Although critics have criticized Mr. Garland, Attorneys General generally do not direct the day-to-day work of investigations. Mr. Garland is reported almost daily on the progress of the investigation, but is led by Matthew M. Graves, a U.S. attorney in Washington who works with national security and criminal division officials. Lisa O. Monaco, the deputy attorney general, oversees the investigation.