Bondi orders jury probe of Obama officials over 2016 election allegations

Investigation Overview - The Justice Department, under the Attorney General's direction, is launching a grand jury investigation into how Obama-era officials assessed Russian interference during the 2016 election [1] - This move follows criminal referrals sent to the Justice Department alleging a "treasonous conspiracy" by top Obama administration officials against then-candidate Donald Trump [2] - Democrats are characterizing this investigation as an attempt to divert attention from the Jeffrey Epstein case [2] - Past probes, including those conducted by Republicans, found no crimes committed by Obama-era officials [3] - The process is considered abnormal because grand jury proceedings are typically secret, and the Department of Justice usually doesn't publicly announce such investigations [4] - No specific alleged crimes have been explicitly named by the Attorney General, although "conspiracy against rights" has been suggested as a potential crime [5][6] Context and Concerns - The investigation is questioning efforts by the Obama administration after Trump's 2016 election win, alleging an attempt to undermine his incoming presidency by suggesting collusion with Russia [7] - A three-year investigation by special counsel John Durham found no conspiracy and brought no charges of that kind [7] - A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report in 2020 also declared that Russia had meddled in the 2016 campaign [8] - Former DOJ officials have called the investigation a "political stunt" [6]