CNN
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Former President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he was informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of a criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a sign that he could be indicted. of the special counsel.
“The deranged Jack Smith, Joe Biden’s DOJ prosecutor, sent a letter (again, Sunday night!) stating that I was a TARGET in the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and gave me a brief 4 days to report to The Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump’s lawyers, including Todd Blanche, received a targeted letter from Smith’s team on Sunday informing them that their client could face charges in the investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two A source familiar with the incident told CNN.
A targeted letter from federal prosecutors to Trump made it clear that prosecutors are focused on the former president’s actions in the investigation into swaying the 2020 election — and not just those around him who tried to stop the his loss in the election.
Trump’s legal team has not formally responded to the invitation to testify before the grand jury, given in the letter, but it is widely expected that Trump will decline to do so. The letter caught Trump’s team off guard, not expecting Smith to bring charges this month, or against Trump.
Trump advisers spent Tuesday morning calling lawyers and allies, trying to find out who else — if anyone — received a targeted letter related to the special counsel’s investigation after the 2020 election, multiple sources familiar with the outreach told CNN. Trump’s advisers hope to gain better insight into what could be a potential criminal case against the former president, according to sources.
So far, Trump’s team has not identified anyone who got a targeted letter, the sources said.
Trump also received a targeted letter from Smith in May about three weeks before he was indicted in the investigation of mishandling classified documents.
Smith declined to comment Tuesday when asked by CNN about the targeted letter and whether his office was preparing to indict the former president. CNN saw Smith leaving a Subway sandwich shop in Washington, DC.
The White House declined to comment. CNN has also reached out to Biden’s reelection campaign for comment.
Trump has been impeached twice this year. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president with 34 counts of falsifying business records in March, and Smith charged Trump with 37 counts in an investigation into classified documents last month. Trump has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Justice Department regulations allow prosecutors to notify subjects of an investigation that they have been targeted. Often a notification that someone is a target is a strong indication that an indictment may follow, but it is possible that the recipient will not ultimately be charged.
Notifications are not required, but prosecutors have the right to notify subjects that they have been targeted.
While Trump has not said specifically why he was told to report to the grand jury, individuals who receive a targeting letter are usually given the opportunity to appear before a grand jury to present evidence or testify if they wish.
In the case of classified documents, Trump received a target letter from the special counsel’s office on May 19. His lawyers then met with Justice Department officials on June 5. Three days after that, on June 8, it was returned to the grand jury indictment against Trump and his co-defendant and aide Walt Nauta.
Trump himself broke the news. The former president spent Monday at his Bedminster golf club with some close advisers and will travel to Iowa later Tuesday with a small group of his campaign team for a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Trump reached out Tuesday to some of his top allies on Capitol Hill — including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik — to strategize how they will go about cracking down on the special counsel’s investigation, according to to sources familiar with the conversations.
Trump and Stefanik discussed his role with the House subcommittee on alleged weaponization of the federal government, as well as his overall efforts to rally support from the House GOP conference around the former president, according to to a source familiar with the call.
Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill were quick to attack the special counsel after the targeted letter. “I think the American public is tired of it,” McCarthy said. “They want to have equal justice, and the idea that they use it to persecute those who disagree politically with them is wrong.”
Trump defended himself in his social media posts Tuesday morning.
“Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an Election that I am absolutely convinced was rigged and stolen, as the Democrats did against me in 2016, and have done many more over the ages, ” wrote Trump.
Smith investigated efforts to overturn the 2020 election through the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including the placement of fake voters in states Trump lost and a campaign of coercion. against his former Vice President Mike Pence to try to reverse it. the election when Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College on January 6.
The special counsel is also investigating Trump’s knowledge that he lost the 2020 election, pressure within the Justice Department to help with efforts to overturn the election and fundraising efforts after the election.
In addition, prosecutors focused on a tumultuous December 2020 Oval Office meeting in the final days of the Trump administration, where Trump advisers discussed the seizure of voting machines, naming a special counsel to investigate voter fraud and the use of martial law as part of efforts to nullify the election.
The grand jury continues to hear from witnesses, and a close Trump adviser is expected to appear Thursday in the special counsel’s investigation into the aftermath of the 2020 election, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. .
Will Russell, who has testified to the grand jury at least twice before, served as a special assistant to the president as well as the deputy director of advance and trip director at the Trump White House. He continued to work for Trump after he left office.
Russell’s attorney declined to comment.
Several witnesses have spoken to prosecutors and testified before a grand jury in the 2020 election investigation, including a long list of Trump’s top White House aides as well as Pence.
Several of Trump’s lawyers have also spoken to federal investigators. Last month, Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani met with investigators for a voluntary interview over two days that covered a variety of topics, including the tumultuous December 2020 meeting he attended, previously reported in CNN.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello, told CNN that Giuliani did not receive a targeted letter.
In recent months, federal prosecutors working for the special counsel have interviewed officials from all seven battleground states targeted by Trump and his allies as they seek to reverse the 2020 election results, CNN has learned.
Smith’s team has met with at least one official from the Nevada secretary of state’s office in recent months as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Prosecutors also interviewed two Wisconsin election officials in recent months: Wisconsin Election Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe and Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.
And Smith’s team contacted former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who Trump pressured to reverse the 2020 election, a source familiar with the outreach confirmed to CNN.
Ducey’s spokeswoman confirmed the outreach from Smith’s team, which had not been previously reported. “Yes, he was contacted. He’s been responsive, and just as he’s done since the election, he will do the right thing,” Ducey’s spokesman Daniel Scarpinato told CNN in a statement.
Other Arizona officials were interviewed and subpoenaed by the special counsel’s team.
Trump narrowly lost Arizona to Biden by less than 11,000 votes in 2020. Trump has publicly attacked Ducey, a former ally, over the state’s certification of the results. As Ducey certified the results of the November 2020 election, Trump appeared to call the governor — with a “Hail to the Chief” ringtone heard playing on Ducey’s phone. Ducey did not take the call but later said he spoke with Trump, though he did not elaborate on the details of the conversation.
The grand jury investigating the 2020 election interference met Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and developments.
