Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order on Monday directing a federal prosecutor to “take evidence to a grand jury relating to an alleged conspiracy to tie then-2016 candidate Donald Trump to the country of Russia,” according to a new Fox News report.
Speaking on “The Will Cain Show,” Fox News correspondent David Spunt disclosed that the network has reviewed the reported one-page directive, which has been confirmed by a “source familiar with the probe.” According to Spunt, “Fox is told Attorney General Bondi is taking the referrals from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ‘very seriously.’”
“The [DOJ] spokesperson says that Bondi believes there is ‘clear cause for deep concern’ and a need for the next steps,” Spunt added.
The reported revelation comes weeks after Gabbard declassified a 2020 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) report into the origins of the debunked allegation that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election.
The bombshell analysis revealed how the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) ordered by President Obama contained uncorroborated evidence (and omitted other critical information) to push the false narrative that Russia wanted Trump to win. It further shined a light on the nefarious activities of high-level intel figures, whom the report showed were instrumental in manipulating the ICA to perpetuate the hoax.
In response to such damning information, Gabbard sent a criminal referral to the DOJ to investigate the players involved in the scheme.
“Their goal was to usurp President Trump and subvert the will of the American people,” Gabbard wrote in an X post regarding the referral. “No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The integrity of our democratic republic depends on it. We are turning over all documents to the DOJ for criminal referral.”
Spunt noted that “there are no charges that have been filed,” and “no indictments” thus far.
“This is incredibly early in the process. What we have here, is taking evidence the Justice Department believes it has, to a grand jury to secure an eventual indictment or indictments,” Spunt said. “We don’t know exactly where the grand jury will meet. We don’t know who will go before the grand jury. And that’s by design because grand juries determine if there’s enough evidence to indict, and grand juries are secretive in the American legal system. So, it’s normal not to know all of the answers.”
The DOJ declined Fox News’ request for comment on the reported directive, according to Spunt.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
