By Allan Lengel
A Washington Post investigation shows the FBI and federal prosecutors waited more than a year after Jan. 6 before embarking on a formal probe into ex-President Donald Trump’s role and the White House officials who directed actions to steal the election.
And even then, the Post reports, the FBI stopped short of identifying the former president as a focus of that investigation.
Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis write:
“A wariness about appearing partisan, institutional caution, and clashes over how much evidence was sufficient to investigate the actions of Trump and those around him all contributed to the slow pace. (AG Merrick) Garland and the deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, charted a cautious course aimed at restoring public trust in the department while some prosecutors below them chafed, feeling top officials were shying away from looking at evidence of potential crimes by Trump and those close to him, The Post found.
“In November, after Trump announced he was again running for president, making him a potential 2024 rival to President Biden, Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith to take over the investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.”
