A former Trump campaign aide has joined Rudy Guiliani in cooperating with the special counsel in the Department of Justice’s2020 election probe, according to a new report.
Mike Roman, a senior adviser on Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign in charge of Election Day operations, is cooperating with federal prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith in the criminal investigation reviewing the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to CNN.
Mr Roman has reportedly entered a proffer agreement, meaning that he may not have to make an appearance in front of a grand jury but that he’ll be able to speak to prosecutors in a more informal manner.
Agreements like this tend to mean that prosecutors agree that they won’t use what’s said in the conversations against the individual in future criminal matters.
Mr Roman received a subpoena from the grand jury several months ago and his phone has been seized. He was part of the attempts to put forward fake electors to support Mr Trump after he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
The investigation has recently focused on the fake electors schemes in seven states that Mr Trump lost in 2020 and what lawyers working for Mr Trump were doing in the aftermath of the election, according to CNN.
Mr Roman has so far not had much contact with the Department of Justice following the seizure of his phone. Conversations about him cooperating with the probe only began recently.
Reports of those conversations come as Gary Michael Brown, Mr Roman’s former deputy, appeared in front of the grand jury last week.
Mr Roman was previously in discussions with prosecutors about a proffer agreement, The New York Times reported.
The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, which was disbanded after the Republican House victory in the 2022 midterms, interviewed Mr Roman as part of its investigation.
While speaking to investigators for the House panel, Mr Roman invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about his actions after the 2020 election but he did respond to a number of questions regarding what he was doing ahead of election day.
About Mr Giuliani, Mr Roman said: “I don’t believe I had any interaction with him before the election.”
When asked about his contacts with Mr Giuliani after Election Day, Mr Roman said: “On the advice of counsel, I assert my constitutional privilege under the Fifth Amendment and respectfully decline to answer the question.”
Mr Giuliani has previously met with special counsel investigators on a voluntary basis, CNN noted.
