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Analysis: DOJ talks with Trump lawyers mark a grave moment for the ex-President
Aug 05, 2022 3 mins, 3 secs
The Wyoming representative, who serves as the vice chair of the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, issued what was effectively a challenge to the Justice Department as CNN exclusively reported on Thursday that Trump's lawyers are in talks with its prosecutors -- in the most concrete step yet toward the former commander-in-chief.

The news was the latest sign that the department, criticized for months for moving too slowly to investigate Trump's election stealing effort and his incitement of the mob that invaded the US Capitol, is moving with speed and broadening its scope -- though there remains no indication when or even if the former President will be charged in the Justice Department's probe.

Cheney argued in an interview with CNN's Kasie Hunt taped Wednesday that if the Justice Department failed to act in the face of evidence of criminal wrongdoing, it would be disastrous to the idea of America itself.

"Understanding what it means if the facts and the evidence are there, and they decide not to prosecute -- how do we then call ourselves a nation of laws?," said Cheney, one of two Republicans on the panel.

Executive privilege is the custom under which private conversations and advice given to a president can remain private, especially from Congress, under the doctrine of separation of powers.

A long legal duel

The potential legal battle that Trump's often risible privilege claims may spark could push the Justice Department investigation into the middle of the ex-President's likely 2024 campaign.

And sources say the former President has asked his advisers whether he is in personal legal jeopardy.

New visibility into aggressive DOJ investigation

Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, told CNN's Erin Burnett that the contacts between Trump's lawyers and prosecutors pointed to a legal joust over the scope of executive privilege.

"I think that Donald Trump is going to lose that battle, but the fact that his lawyers are engaging in this and telling him that he better beware, indictments could come, I think is very serious news for the former President but very good news for democracy, the rule of law and the Constitution," Wehle said.

The latest revelations about the grand jury probe reinforce signs that the Justice Department is acting with speed and expansive scope to investigate the insurrection following months of complaints -- even from members of the House select committee -- that it did not appear to be that active.

This in turn raises the possibility that yet another significant period of national trauma caused by Trump could lie ahead.

At the same time, failing to pursue an ex-President accused of helping to foment a coup attempt could create an equally dangerous precedent and send a signal to future aberrant Presidents.

Trump team discussed potential defense strategies

The most significant news yet about the Justice Department criminal probe follows unmistakable signs of a comprehensive and quickening investigation.

This comes as they await developments not solely in the Justice Department investigation but in a separate probe by officials in Georgia into Trump's efforts to overturn Biden's election victory in the crucial state in 2020.

Trump has grilled his attorneys on whether they actually believe he will face formal charges, but he has expressed skepticism that he will be indicted, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.

The CNN team also reveals that Trump has ignored advice from advisers to avoid speaking to former and current aides who have become entangled in the House select committee probe and could be drawn in by the criminal investigation.

When it comes to the issue of executive privilege, historical precedent could work against the former President.

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