According to those with knowledge of the matter, the Justice Department has served about 40 subpoenas over the past week in an effort to obtain information about the activities of former President Donald J. Trump and his associates in connection with the 2020 presidential election and the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a New York Times report stated.

Boris Epshteyn and Mike Roman, two prominent Trump aides, had their phones taken as proof, NYT reported citing sources.

Also read: Who is Boris Epshteyn, the Trump-aide subpoenaed by Jan 6 committee?

The NYT report added that the Justice Department carried out search warrants to collect electronic equipment from individuals involved in the so-called fake electors’ attempt in swing states, including Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser, and Roman, a campaign strategist. The people said that federal authorities made the seizures last week.

Bill Stepien, a former Trump campaign manager, and Sean Dollman, who served as the chief financial officer for Trump’s 2020 campaign, are two among those subpoenaed, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, another report by CNN stated.

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The CNN report stated citing a source that Dan Scavino, Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, just received a subpoena as well.

The subpoenas ask witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington, DC, and request documentation.

The Justice Department’s ordinary pre-election quiet period, which lasts 60 days before the midterm elections, is when the department generally tries to avoid taking overt investigatory action in politically sensitive probes to avoid the appearance of trying to influence the election. The flurry of subpoenas and other investigative activity occurred in the days just before this period.

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Some of the subpoenas sought information on a variety of topics, including the fake elector scheme, Save America PAC, Trump’s main political fundraising organisation, the planning of the January 6 rally, and any communications with a large number of individuals who worked to rig the 2020 election results, CNN reported.

One of the subpoenas was reviewed by CNN. In the subpoena CNN reviewed, records pertaining to remuneration given to or received from a list of individuals until January 20, 2021, including Trump lawyers and campaign officials, are sought. Additionally, it requests contact with anyone working for the Justice Department. Investigators are looking into Jeffrey Clark‘s role in helping Trump advance bogus allegations of election fraud, CNN previously reported.

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The subpoenas demand communication with some of the same individuals who were named in subpoenas issued to fictitious electors in several states earlier this year. These individuals include former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Victoria Toensing, the CNN report added.

Any information that recipients had previously provided to the House select committee looking into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 was also demanded in some of the subpoenas.

In the weeks following the 2020 election, Giuliani collaborated with former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik to look for proof of voter fraud. According to his lawyer, Kerik also received a subpoena for records and testimony, CNN reported.

“I’ve seen plenty of subpoenas. This looks very different because there’s no direction to it,” according to Timothy Parlatore, Kerik’s attorney. “Usually it’s very targeted.”

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A person familiar with the matter claims that Brian Jack, the last political director in the Trump White House, was also subpoenaed. An inquiry for feedback from Jack received no response, the CNN report stated.

Amy Kremer, the executive director of Women for America First, which organised the Trump event outside the White House, tweeted over the weekend that her organisation had also received a broad subpoena. The same was made public by her lawyer.