Special counsel Jack Smith has informed former President Donald Trump in a letter that he is a target in his investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Trump too confirmed the evolution in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The letter, which the sources said was passed on to Trump’s lawyers in recent days, indicates that another indictment against the former president could be imminent, although it was not immediately clear what kind of charges he might ultimately face.
Target letters are typically given to the subjects of a criminal investigation to warn them that they face the possibility of being charged.
Multiple sources tell ABC News that allies, aides and lawyers of the former president have been working to determine whether anyone else received a designation letter from the special counsel regarding the election investigation.
“We can’t find anyone,” a source said Tuesday afternoon.
A lawyer for Trump’s former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told ABC News that the former New York City mayor had not received a letter as of Tuesday afternoon.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the stage during the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 15, 2023.
Marco Bello/Reuters
Trump previously received a target letter from Smith before he was indicted by a Florida grand jury over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged efforts to obstruct the government’s investigation.
Smith took control of the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation into failed efforts by Trump and his allies to thwart his election loss after his appointment as special counsel last November, and in recent months dozens of witnesses have appeared to testify before a large federal government. jury in Washington, DC
According to the sources, prosecutors have questioned witnesses specifically about efforts to present false tabulations of so-called false electors who should have cast electoral college votes during Trump’s certification in key states he lost to President Joe Biden.
Investigators have also sought information about Trump’s actions and state of mind in the days leading up to and on January 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, temporarily disrupting the certification and making that lawmakers and former Vice President Pence flee the building.
Trump was indicted last month on 37 criminal charges related to his handling of classified material, after Smith’s prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to turn over hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from US nuclear secrets to to the country’s defense capabilities. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The former president has also pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment by the Manhattan district attorney accusing him of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.
