Former President Donald Trump has reportedly received a target letter as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s federal criminal investigation.
The investigation is focused on Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The target letter, as per multiple sources, outlines three federal statutes that Trump may have potentially violated. These include conspiracy to commit an offense or defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under color of law, and tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant.
However, the letter does not elaborate on how Trump may have breached these laws. In response to this development, Trump’s allies and legal team have been reaching out to individuals within Trump’s circle who may have also received a target letter. As of now, it appears that only Trump has received such a letter.
Trump took to social media on Tuesday to express his views on the matter. He wrote, “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to investigate both Trump’s handling of sensitive documents and his alleged efforts to overturn the election. The Washington grand jury is believed to be examining Trump’s conduct in the period between the 2020 election and January 6, 2021.
The grand jury, which is meeting at Washington’s E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, is believed to have heard from Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, as well as Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short; former Director of the Office of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe; White House lawyers Patrick Philbin and Pat Cipollone, among others.
