Donald Trump says he is a “target” for a criminal investigation and must report to a grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the former president shared on his social media platform Truth Social, citing a letter he says he received special counsel Jack Smith.
“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,” Trump wrote.
The Office of Special Counsel declined to comment to NBC News. However, the news organization independently verified that Trump had received a target letter from Smith through two sources with direct knowledge.
In the post, Trump accused President Joe Biden and his appointees of “illegally” spying on his campaign, attacking him with a “totally Fake ‘Dossier’ that was funded by Hilary Clinton’s Campaign and the DNC,” impeaching him twice and failing on “every other scam available.”
Trump also noted that he has been “effectively” indicted three times with a “probable fourth coming from Atlanta.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has been sent a target letter. On May 19, prosecutors notified Trump’s legal team in connection to Trump’s mishandling of documents. Typically, target letters are sent to an individual if there is “substantial evidence” they have committed a crime. The letter gives the individual the opportunity to cooperate before they’re charged.
Though no other U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges, Trump has been indicted twice. Trump’s first indictment came in March of 2023 due to a financial fraud case having to do with The Trump Organization. That case largely revolved around a hush-money payment that was given to adult film star Stormy Daniels. In that case, Trump was criminally charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree due to a New York law. That trial is set to take place on March 25, 2024.
Then there’s the classified documents case, which revolves around Trump taking highly sensitive national security documents after leaving office in 2021. This is one of two cases special council Jack Smith was assigned to lead by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. In that case, Trump was charged with 31 felony counts of willful retention of national defense information that violated the Espionage Act, four felony counts of obstruction and two felony counts of false statements. His longtime aid, Walt Nauta, was also charged with six felonies.
During an arraignment in June, Trump pled not guilty. A hearing has been set for Tuesday to determine a timeline for the trial as well as how the court should handle the classified documents.
That leaves Trump’s ongoing investigations. The Jan. 6 committee suggested the former president be charged with several felonies including obstruction of an official proceeding; conspiracy to defraud the U.S.; conspiracy to make false statements; inciting, assisting or aiding an insurrection; wire fraud; and money laundering. This is the investigation Trump most recently referred to on Truth Social, the second case Smith is leading and what could lead to Trump’s third indictment.
Finally, there’s the Georgia election interference investigation, which revolves around Trump and his allies allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the presidential election in the Southern state. A special grand jury for this investigation released a sealed report with its recommended indictments. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis now has to ask a grand jury for permission to approve any criminal charges. More information on this investigation is expected to be released in the summer.
