Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a grand jury investigation into whether Obama-era officials broke the law in their handling of intelligence on Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 election. The move follows a criminal referral from National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
In July, Gabbard declassified documents that she said proved a “treasonous conspiracy” by the Obama administration in 2016. She said the administration politicized U.S. intelligence in an effort to cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Donald Trump’s election victory.
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Grand jury process
Bondi has since launched a “Strike Force” to review the evidence. Following referrals from Trump’s top intelligence official, she’s asking prosecutors to present the evidence to a grand jury.
A senior administration official said a grand jury will now be asked to consider potential indictments. However, the official did not indicate who the grand jury will focus on or what the potential charges may be.
Prosecutors must present specific instances of misconduct that warrant criminal charges for an indictment to be issued. The jury must then sign off on the charges.
According to NBC News, there is no exact timetable for when the grand jury will meet, and the proceeding could begin in months.
‘A political stunt’
Critics called it a political stunt, pointing to numerous investigations, including a bipartisan Senate report and the Durham report. Those reports found no criminal conspiracy by Obama officials and confirmed Russia did meddle in the election.
A former senior national security official also noted that multiple past reviews, including ones conducted by Republicans, found no such crimes.
The Justice Department has declined to comment.
