Former US president Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that he is anticipating another potential criminal indictment, this time related to the special counsel probe into the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that “Deranged Jack Smith”, the special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, sent his attorneys a letter saying he is “a TARGET” of the investigation and has “a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment”.
Smith is already prosecuting Trump on dozens of counts for allegedly conspiring to squirrel away classified government documents after departing the White House.
But his criminal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election has yet to yield charges. Trump’s statement suggests that may be about to change.
Trump’s attorneys delivered the “HORRIFYING NEWS,” as the ex-president put it, on Sunday evening.
Dozens of witnesses have reportedly provided testimony in connection to the federal January 6 probe, including people who were once close to the ex-president, such as former vice president Mike Pence, former Trump campaign attorney Rudy Giuliani and former presidential aide Stephen Miller.
It is not clear precisely which charges Smith may pursue against Trump in relation to the Capitol attack. He may focus on the former president’s efforts to create in several swing states illegitimate slates of electors who would be loyal to Trump and sway the 2020 election in his favor.
At least two such “fake electors” have testified in Smith’s January 6 probe, according to NBC News.
In late March, Trump was indicted on 34 state-level charges in New York that were related to his 2016′s campaign’s hush-money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Around two months later, he was indicted on 37 federal-level charges in relation to the classified documents — many allegedly containing highly sensitive national security information — that he improperly took from the White House after his presidency.
Another state-level investigation, out of Georgia, is still ongoing.