Justice Department issues flurry of subpoenas in fresh inquiry into Trump-Russia probe: AP sources (AUDIO)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has issuing a flurry of subpoenas related to the U.S. government’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, multiple people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The grand jury subpoenas issued out of the Southern District of Florida seek documents related to the preparation of the Obama administration’s intelligence community assessment, made public in January 2017, that claimed Russia waged a covert influence campaign to help Donald Trump defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The new inquiry comes as the Justice Department has investigated former officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Trump months into his first term in the White House amid the Russia investigation.

The full list of people who were receiving subpoenas was not immediately known. But a person familiar with the matter identified some of the current, future or intended recipients as former CIA Director John Brennan as well as Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, two FBI employees who were involved in the Russia investigation and who traded pejorative text messages about Mr. Trump.

Strzok, a top counterintelligence agent, was later fired and Page, an FBI lawyer, resigned. As many as 30 subpoenas were expected to issued, the person said.