Investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election dogged Donald Trump throughout much of his first term

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, has directed the justice department to move forward with an inquiry into the origins of the Donald Trump-Russia investigation following the recent release of documents aimed at undermining the legitimacy of the inquiry which established that Moscow interfered on the president’s behalf in the 2016 election that first sent him to the White House.

Bondi has directed a prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury after referrals from the Trump administration’s top intelligence official, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. That person was not authorized to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press.