Federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results have questioned his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, among other witnesses to see if the former president acknowledged he had lost.
Mr Kushner testified to a grand jury in Washington DC last month, according to a report from The New York Times.
Prosecutors’ inquiry about Mr Trump’s private knowledge of the election results may determine whether US Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith brings charges against the ex-president regarding his interference with the results of the 2020 election.
During his testimony, the former president’s son-in-law maintained that Mr Trump believed the election was stolen, a source briefed on the matter said.
Other people close to Mr Trump, including Alyssa Farah Griffin, the former White House director of strategic communications, and Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, were questioned as well.
Throughout a series of congressional hearings by the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack, members of Congress provided the public with witness testimony that allies of Mr Trump informed him multiple times he lost the election.
Despite this, the ex-president maintained he won and purported lies of voter and election fraud.
A baseless narrative of election fraud fuelled supporters of Mr Trump who stormed the Capitol building on 6 January 2021, interrupting the certification of the election results and assaulting dozens of law enforcement officers.
It is unclear what charges federal prosecutors could bring against Mr Trump, should they decide to, but the House Select Committee referred several possible charges to the Justice Department last year, including inciting an insurrection and obstructing an act of Congress.
Mr Trump is already facing federal charges brought by Mr Smith regarding his alleged mishandling of classified documents. He also faces charges in New York related to an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
He also is facing an investigation in Georgia by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis regarding his alleged efforts to overturn his election loss in that state.
