Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a grand jury investigation into the intelligence regarding President Trump and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election.
She has directed Justice Department staff to begin legal proceedings and ordered a federal prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury about the matter to secure a potential indictment, according to a source familiar with Bondi’s efforts. It is unclear what the charges would be and who would be charged.
The directive follows a criminal referral from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in mid-July. The Justice Department confirmed it had received the referral.
The Justice Department has not responded to a request for comment.
Last month, Gabbard released more than 100 pages of declassified files about Russia’s actions during the 2016 presidential election, reigniting a nearly decades-long political battle about the U.S. intelligence community’s handling of intelligence.
Her office alleged in a memorandum released with the files that they contained what she called evidence of “suppression” and manipulation of the intelligence underlying a 2017 community-wide assessment of Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
The files included email exchanges, excerpts from a President’s Daily Brief and a readout from a principals committee meeting, chiefly from a period during the Obama administration.
In a statement and social media posts, Gabbard claimed the materials, which were marked declassified on July 17, 2025, were evidence of a “treasonous conspiracy” and “years-long coup” plotted by Obama administration officials against Mr. Trump, and said she would forward them to the Department of Justice as part of a criminal referral.
Democrats have fiercely disputed her claims, pointing to the findings of a bipartisan Senate investigation that concluded Russia had attempted to influence the 2016 election. They accused Gabbard herself of misrepresenting intelligence findings and processes.
contributed to this report.
