Former President Donald Trump disclosed on Tuesday that he is the subject of an investigation by a federal grand jury into the events of January 6, 2021.
“HORRIFYING NEWS for our country was given to me by my attorneys,” the leading 2024 GOP presidential candidate said in a statement on his Truth Social platform that began with “WOW!”
“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.
He said the expected indictment is political, writing that he is “Joe Biden’s NUMBER ONE POLITICAL OPPONENT, who is largely dominating him in the race for the Presidency.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before, or even close,” Trump wrote, adding, “It is a very sad and dark period for our nation.”
The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that Trump would likely decline to appear before the grand jury.
If the former president is indicted again, it will be the third time he has been charged.
In April, he was charged in New York City with improperly classifying payments made during the 2016 presidential election.
Trump was indicted in June on federal charges stemming from an investigation headed by special prosecutor Jack Smith into allegations that he mishandled classified documents discovered during a raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida the previous year.
The report of another indictment prompted criticism of the Biden administration and calls for Trump to withdraw from the presidential campaign.
See my statement on the news that Donald Trump is a target of the #January6th Investigation: pic.twitter.com/jeor7zoUMi
— Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) July 18, 2023
Another day, another indictment of President Trump.
By now, these indictments are nothing but background noise.
We realize without any doubt that DOJ is weaponized and their indictments have lost all credibility.
President Trump will be re-elected in 2024 and I look forward to…
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) July 18, 2023
According to NBC News, Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene termed the possibility that the former president could be indicted in relation to the Capitol invasion “absolute bulls***.”
“Yeah, that’s my reaction. This is the only way that the Democrats have to beat President Trump is to arrest him, smear him, charge him with ridiculous charges,” she said, calling efforts to indict Trump a way to mask “Joe Biden’s crimes” and “Hunter Biden’s crimes.”
According to ABC News, letters like the one Trump received are a warning that a person may be indicted.
The outlet, citing unnamed sources, reported that the investigation is centered on efforts to present alternative elector slates in response to Trump’s allegations of pervasive misconduct in the 2020 presidential election.
In November 2022, Smith was appointed as a special counsel.
The Justice Department said that in addition to his classified document probe, Smith was charged with investigating “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021,” according to a DOJ news release.