again hinted at a 2024 presidential campaign. and on capitol hill, congress is up against the clock. lawmakers have a lot they want to get done before their summer break. good morning. welcome to way too early on this wednesday, july 27th. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. we ll begin with the latest in the justice department s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. four people familiar with the matter tell the washington post that federal prosecutors have now turned their attention to donald trump. two sources tell the paper that in recent days two top aides to vice president mike pence were asked before a grand jury about their conversations with trump, his lawyers and others in his inner circle who took part in the scheme to replace certified biden electors with a slate of the former president s allies. according to the post, prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings trump led in december, 2020, and janua
aides in the trump administration including former chief of staff mark meadows. a spokesman for trump did not immediately respond to request for comment. attorney general garland sat down for a rare and exclusive interview with nbc s lester holt and defended the justice department against criticism it is working slower than the house select committee s investigation into january 6th. look, the justice department has been doing the most wide-ranging investigation in its history, and the committee is doing an enormously wide-ranging investigation as well. it is inevitable that there will be things that they found before we have found them, and it s inevitable that there will be things we find that they haven t found. the justice department has from the beginning been moving urgently to learn everything we can about this period and to bring to justice everybody who is criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power. you said in no uncertain terms t
what he s telling our own lester holt about holding those responsible accountable and whether it matters if they happen to be a former president or running for president. also this hour we re set to hear from one of president biden s top economic advisers as the fed kicks off a two-day meeting as we speak with interest rates probably heading up again. plus my exclusive interview. one on one with trevor reed. the marine now back in the u.s. after being imprisoned in russia for nearly three years. his advice to brittney griner, who s in court today, and what he says the white house should be doing. i m hallie jackson in washington with a jam-packed show for you today. i want to bring in nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard, who is posted up in the location where mr. trump is set to give that speech. nbc news capitol hill correspondent ali vitali is with us. justice reporter ryan riley joins us along with washington post political investigative reporter josh dausee and forme