Trump Team Hit With New Jan. 6 Subpoena Asking For Communications About Dominion, Report Says

Topline

Staffers with former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign received subpoenas last month asking for information about the leadup to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, according to the Washington Post, including any communications about Dominion and Smartmatic—voting machine companies at the center of false conspiracy theories about voter fraud.

Then-President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House in Washington on … [+] January 14, 2019 en route to New Orleans to address the annual American Farm Bureau Federation convention. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The four-page subpoena that campaign officials received on December 9 seeks information in more than 20 different categories, according to the Post.

The request about Dominion and Smartmatic seems intended to determine whether the Trump team’s private conversations matched their public railings against the two companies—despite no evidence suggesting the companies were involved in any fraud.

Among the issues it reportedly asks staffers to address are whether anyone other than themselves are paying for their legal counsel, along with “all documents and communications” involving a series of Trump-related fundraising groups and documents concerning a so-called “Election Defense Fund” to raise money after Trump lost the election.

The subpoena also requests further details on issues already known to be part of a special counsel’s investigation, including information on a plot to install fake pro-Trump electors in swing states won by President Joe Biden to ensure Trump won a second term.

Trump’s 2024 campaign and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.

Key Background

The issuance of new subpoenas was approved as part of the federal January 6 investigation now overseen by special counsel Jack Smith, suggesting the probe has no signs of slowing down even after the change in leadership. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to replace himself as head of the investigation in November following Trump’s 2024 campaign announcement, citing a potential conflict of interest as an appointed member of the Biden Administration. The House January 6 committee made four criminal referrals against Trump to the DOJ last month following the conclusion of its 18-month investigation, including inciting or engaging in an insurrection, but any decisions on filing criminal charges are ultimately up to the DOJ. Smith’s team is also investigating why a trove of classified records were stored in Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home, a probe that led FBI agents to search his residence last year.

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