Handwritten notes released Friday show Donald Trump instructed Justice Department leadership to back false claims that the election was stolen.

      

The Justice Department will not be asserting executive privilege as committees probe whether Donald Trump tried to use DOJ to subvert the election.

      

The development is a brutal defeat for the former president. Trump has dismissed the Manhattan prosecutors' investigation as a political "witch hunt."

      

Investigating the Russia probe, which cast a dark cloud over much of President Donald Trump's presidency, continues to be a dominant issue for Republicans.

       

Government attorneys acknowledged the existence of emails explaining Trump's thinking about withholding Ukraine aid.