Dec. 6 (UPI) — The special counsel assigned to the investigation into former President Donald Trump‘s handling of classified documents issued subpoenas to election officials in three states.
Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed officials in Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona for communications they had with Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the Washington Post reported.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to determine whether to file criminal charges against the former president for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and keeping classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The subpoenas specifically target top election officials in counties where the most populous cities in each state are located.
Officials from Wayne County, Mich.; Milwaukee County, Wis.; Dane County, Wis.; and Maricopa County, Ariz. are ordered to submit records of communications of any form they had with the Trump campaign between June 1, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021. This includes all communications from at least 19 election officials.
The officials in question may submit the documents in lieu of appearing before a grand jury.
Representatives from Dane County, Wis.; Wayne County, Mich.; and Maricopa County, Ariz., confirmed they received the subpoena.
The three states involved were targets of Trump- and Republican-led efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
Meanwhile, the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol may soon make criminal referrals to the Justice Department, according to Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the committee. Thompson said the committee has made decisions on criminal referrals on Tuesday but did not clarify who will be the subjects of those referrals.
Special counsel Smith is a longtime attorney who has served within the Justice Department in several roles.
When Smith was appointed in November, the Justice Department released a statement that said he will determine “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about Jan. 6, 2021, and the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records.”
