Trump actions in focus as US Capitol attack probe heats up

The US Justice Department is investigating Donald Trump's actions in its criminal probe of the former president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

The Justice Department has been interviewing former White House officials, including the former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, who confirmed on Monday that he had testified to a federal grand jury investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his defeat.

The testimony of Marc Short, the most high-profile official known to have appeared before the grand jury, is a sign the Justice Department's investigation of the attack and the fake elector plot is heating up.

Prosecutors questioning witnesses before the grand jury have asked about conversations with Trump and his lawyers and others close to him, the Post reported.

Investigators in April also received phone records of important officials such as Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, the Post said.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco earlier confirmed that the Justice Department had received referrals about slates of alternative fake electors that were sent to the National Archives, and said prosecutors were reviewing them.

The fake elector plot has featured prominently in the US House of Representatives committee hearings probing the attack on the Capitol.