The special counsel appointed to oversee the Department of Justice’s inquiry into the Trump-linked fake elector scheme sent a series of subpoenas to officials in three states, pointing to an escalation in the investigation.
The subpoenas — sent to officials in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin — were among the first Jack Smith, the recently appointed special counsel signed.
Although three subpoenas were dated November 22, officials in Dane County, Wisconsin, Maricopa County, Arizona, and Wayne County, Michigan, only received them late last week.
The county clerks for Dane County, Maricopa County, and Wayne County are requested to detail communications county officials had with former President Donald Trump, “any employee or agent of, or attorney for, the Trump Campaign.”
The subpoena provides 19 names of critical figures allied to the Trump campaign that county officials could have been in contact with — a list that includes attorneys Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Sidney Powell, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, and official advisers like Bill Epshteyn.
The subpoenas are requesting communication leading up to 2021 Inauguration Day be handed over and represent three states Trump suffered critical losses to the Biden campaign.
In Arizona, the loss to Biden prompted Trump to urge local and state officials not to certify the results.
In Wisconsin and Michigan, the defeat saw the then-President pressure state and local officials to send alternative electors to Congress to vote in favor of Trump during the certification process on January 6, 2021.
The subpoenas to the three states aren’t the only subpoenas Smith has issued since assuming the role on November 18; he issued several, including one to British filmmaker Alex Holder for raw footage of the January 6 riot.
