Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that it could soon be charged by US prosecutors. Video above: Overview of Trump’s actions on the day of the January 6 uprising. The new federal charges, in addition to existing state and federal recounts in New York and Florida and a separate election interference investigation nearing conclusion in Georgia, would add to the list of legal problems for Trump as he pursues the presidential nomination 2024 Republican. Trump disclosed the existence of a target letter in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he received it Sunday night and that he expects to be indicted. This letter often precedes an indictment and is used to warn people under investigation that prosecutors have gathered evidence linking them to a crime; Trump, for example, received one shortly before he was indicted last month in a separate investigation into the illegal withholding of classified documents. A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith, whose office is leading the investigation, declined to comment. Legal experts have said there are potential charges. it could include conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding, in this case Congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. Smith’s team has cast a wide net in its investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to block the transfer of power to Biden in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, when loyalists to Trump stormed the building to try to disrupt the certification of state electoral votes in Congress. More than 1,000 people accused of participating in the riots have been charged. Smith’s investigation has focused on a wide range of efforts by Trump and his allies to keep him in office, including the use of so-called fake voter slates in battleground states won by Biden and contested by Trump. Prosecutors have questioned several Trump administration officials before a grand jury in Washington, including former Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump repeatedly urged to shirk his constitutional duty and block the January 6 election vote count. They have also interviewed other Trump advisers, including former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as well as local election officials in states like Michigan and New Mexico who endured a lobbying campaign by the then-president to overturn the election results . Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing and did so again in his post on Tuesday, writing: “Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an election that I am fully convinced was rigged and stolen . just as the Democrats have done against me in 2016, and many others have done over the centuries.” Trump remains the Republican Party’s dominant front-runner, despite accusations in New York stemming from hush money payments during his campaign of 2016 and in Florida, which appears The indictments have also helped his campaign raise millions of dollars from supporters, although he raised far less after the second than the first, raising questions about whether the subsequent charges will have the same impact .He was scheduled to travel to Iowa on Tuesday, where he was taping a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity. One purpose of a destination letter is to notify a potential defendant that he has the right to appear before a grand jury. he said in his post that he has been given “a very short 4 days to appear before the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest and indictment.” Aides did not immediately respond to questions seeking more information. investigation into Trump’s efforts to reverse his election loss in that state, with Fulton County’s top prosecutor indicating he expects to announce charging decisions next month. In his post on Tuesday, Trump wrote that “I have now been indicted effectively three times … with probably a fourth coming from Atlanta,” and added in all caps: “This witch hunt is about election interference and ‘a total and complete political weaponization of law enforcement’. Trump was indicted last month on 37 related federal crimes. to allegations that he illegally withheld hundreds of classified documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. He has pleaded not guilty. A pretrial conference in that case was set for Tuesday in Fort Pierce, Fla.____Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that it could soon be charged by US prosecutors.
Video above: Overview of Trump’s actions on the day of the January 6 uprising
The new federal charges, in addition to existing state and federal recounts in New York and Florida and a separate election interference investigation nearing conclusion in Georgia, would add to the list of legal problems for Trump as he pursues the presidential nomination Republican of 2024.
Trump disclosed the existence of a target letter in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he received it on Sunday night and that he expects to be indicted. This letter often precedes an indictment and is used to warn people under investigation that prosecutors have gathered evidence linking them to a crime; Trump, for example, received one shortly before he was indicted last month in a separate investigation into the illegal withholding of classified documents.
A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith, whose office is leading the investigation, declined to comment.
Legal experts have said the possible charges could include conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding, in this case the congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Smith’s team has cast a wide net in its investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to block the transfer of power to Biden in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, when loyalists to Trump stormed the building to try. to stop the certification of state electoral votes in Congress. More than 1,000 people accused of participating in the riots have been charged.
Smith’s investigation has focused on a wide range of efforts by Trump and his allies to keep him in office, including the use of fake electoral rolls in battleground states won by Biden and contested by trump
Prosecutors have questioned several Trump administration officials before a grand jury in Washington, including former Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump repeatedly urged to shirk his constitutional duty and block the January 6 election vote count. They have also interviewed other Trump advisers, including former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as well as local election officials in states like Michigan and New Mexico who endured a lobbying campaign by the then-president to overturn the election results .
Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing and did so again in his post on Tuesday, writing: “Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an election that I am fully convinced was rigged and stolen , just as the Democrats did against me in 2016, and many others have done over the centuries.”
Trump remains the Republican Party’s overwhelming favorite, despite allegations in New York stemming from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign and in Florida that appear to have had little impact on his standing in the crowded Republican field. . The indictments have also helped his campaign raise millions of dollars from supporters, though he raised far less after the second than the first, raising questions about whether subsequent charges will have the same impact.
He was scheduled to travel to Iowa on Tuesday, where he was taping a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
One purpose of a arraignment letter is to notify a potential defendant that he or she has the right to appear before a grand jury. Trump said in his post that he has been given “about 4 very short days to appear before the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest and an indictment.” Aides did not immediately respond to questions for more information.
Prosecutors in Georgia are conducting a separate investigation into Trump’s efforts to reverse his election loss in that state, and Fulton County’s top prosecutor says he expects to announce charging decisions next month.
In his post on Tuesday, Trump wrote that “I have now been indicted effectively three times…with a fourth likely coming from Atlanta” and added in all caps: “This witch hunt is about election interference and ‘a complete and total policy. arming of law enforcement.’
Trump was indicted last month on 37 federal felonies in connection with allegations that he illegally withheld hundreds of classified documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. He has pleaded not guilty. A pretrial conference in that case was set for Tuesday in Fort Pierce, Florida.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
