Report: Justice Department May Wait Until After Midterms to File Charges Against Trump

In the wake of its investigation at Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department is under great scrutiny due to the extraordinary possibility of filing charges against a former US president. His attempt to void the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden, is the subject of a separate DOJ investigation.

If the US Justice Department determines that former President Donald Trump in fact violated the law, federal prosecutors will likely hold off on filing any charges until after the November elections, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

According to the report, prosecutors are prohibited from proceeding with investigations or pursuing charges, as per long-standing department policy, 60 days prior to an election with the intention of influencing the outcome or helping a candidate or political party.

Sources familiar with the Justice Department's procedures reportedly claimed it would be by September 10 this year, making it highly unlikely that anything would be published until November 8.

The department has taken measures that have been viewed as political intervention in recent years that have flouted said principle. The FBI's announcement that it was reopening an investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server just days before the 2016 presidential election, which detractors claim hurt her campaign, was one of the most notable recent incidents.

Additionally, in 2020, former Attorney General William Barr announced in the weeks leading up to the presidential election that department officials could make public announcements and take overt investigative steps with regard to voter fraud cases. This announcement was viewed by some as supporting Trump's claim that there was widespread voter fraud.

Any criminal charges brought against Trump will likely have a big effect this election cycle.

The former president leads a large political movement, though he will not be a candidate in the upcoming elections; however, he has endorsed numerous candidates who will be participating. Notably, Trump recently claimed that a "rightful winner" should be declared in the 2020 presidential election, following Mark Zuckerberg's revelations about the case of Hunter Biden's laptop. Trump apparently pressed for his reinstatement as president or the holding of new elections.

Trump may possibly announce his candidacy for president before November, something he has repeatedly hinted he would do, and would likely see him become the front-runner for the Republican ticket.

According to the report, it remains unclear which of the Trump-focused investigations will have progressed by November to the point where a choice about whether to charge him may be made. There are no impending deadlines that the department must meet before November, the report noted.

Nothing, however, reportedly prevents investigators from conducting their investigations in a secretive manner, which may include securing sealed indictments.

When he assumed control of the department, Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed to maintain impartial investigations and to reestablish the agency's independence and integrity. He sent out a memo in May announcing that the midterm elections in 2022 will be subject to the election-year regulation first instituted in 2020 by his predecessor, in which any investigation into political candidates or their staff must first be approved by the attorney general's office.

In recent court filings, the department has detailed its investigative procedures. The department claimed in a Tuesday filing it had gathered evidence that White House records kept in a storage room at Trump's Florida residence may have been hidden or removed prior to a June FBI visit to gather classified documents, pointing to potential attempts to obstruct the investigation.

According to a different document, the FBI removed 20 boxes of information, including 11 sets of classified materials, from Trump's residence on August 8 after executing a search order.

Nevertheless, announcing charges against Trump before the elections would probably be viewed by his followers as a political attempt to harm the former commander-in-chief's credibility, and his backed candidates, which might lead to turmoil in the nation.