Fresh subpoenas issued in US probe revisiting 2016 Russia election findings

The US Justice Department has issued a new round of subpoenas as part of a Florida-based criminal investigation examining perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump and the government’s handling of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, people familiar with the matter told AP.

Earlier subpoenas sent in November sought documents related to the preparation of a US intelligence community assessment published in January 2017, which concluded that Moscow conducted a broad campaign to help Trump defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The latest subpoenas expand the scope, requesting records covering the years since the report’s release.

The investigation represents continued activity in several Justice Department inquiries targeting Trump’s political opponents. Former intelligence and law enforcement officials have received subpoenas, and lawyers for former CIA Director John Brennan say he has been identified as a target, though prosecutors have not provided what they call a “legally justifiable basis” for the probe.

Multiple US government reviews — including bipartisan congressional investigations and the inquiry led by former special counsel Robert Mueller — concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election through hacked Democratic emails and a covert social media campaign favouring Trump, while finding no criminal conspiracy between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign.

The Trump administration has renewed scrutiny of the intelligence assessment partly because its classified annexe referenced the “Steele dossier,” opposition research compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele that contained unverified allegations about Trump’s ties to Russia. Trump has long argued the dossier undermined the credibility of the broader investigation.

A declassified CIA tradecraft review released last July by CIA Director John Ratcliffe upheld the finding of Russian interference but cited “multiple procedural anomalies” and criticised Brennan over references to the dossier. Brennan has maintained he opposed including the material, saying it did not influence the assessment’s conclusions and was added at the FBI’s urging.

The Florida investigation appears to be part of a broader effort to revisit decisions made during the Russia inquiry. It remains unclear whether any criminal charges will follow. In a letter to a federal judge last December, Brennan’s lawyers challenged the legal basis of the probe, calling it “manufactured” and questioning why it was opened in Florida.

By Tamilla Hasanova