Trump says he has been notified he's a target of the US probe into efforts to overturn 2020 election | AP News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has received a letter informing him he is a target of the Justice Department's investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication he could soon be charged by U.S. prosecutors.
New federal charges, on top of existing state and federal counts in New York and Florida and a separate election-interference investigation nearing conclusion in Georgia, would add to the list of legal problems for Trump as he pursues the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Trump disclosed the existence of a target letter in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he received it Sunday night and that he anticipates being indicted. Such a letter often precedes an indictment and is used to advise individuals under investigation that prosecutors have gathered evidence linking them to a crime; Trump, for instance, received one soon before being charged last month in a separate investigation into the illegal retention of classified documents.
A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith, whose office is leading the investigation, declined to comment.
Legal experts have said potential charges could include conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding, in this case Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory.
Smith's team has cast a broad net in its investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to block the transfer of power to Biden in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, when Trump loyalists stormed the building in a bid to disrupt the certification of state electoral votes in Congress. More than 1,000 people accused of participating in the riot have been charged.
Smith's probe has centered on a broad range of efforts by Trump and allies to keep him in office, including the use of slates of so-called fake electors in battleground states won by Biden and disputed by Trump.
Prosecutors have questioned multiple Trump administration officials before a grand jury in Washington, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who was repeatedly urged by Trump to shun his constitutional duty and block the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6. They've also interviewed other Trump advisers, including former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as well as local election officials in states including Michigan and New Mexico who endured a pressure campaign from the then-president about overturning election results.
Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing and did so again in his Tuesday post, writing, "Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen. just as the Democrats have done against me in 2016, and many others have done over the ages."
Trump remains the Republican party's dominant frontrunner, despite indictments in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign and in Florida, which seem to have had little impact on his standing in the crowded GOP field. The indictments also have helped his campaign raise millions of dollars from supporters, though he raised far less after the second than the first, raising questions about whether subsequent charges will have the same impact.
He was to travel to Iowa Tuesday, where he was taping a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
One purpose of a target letter is to advise a potential defendant that he or she has a right to appear before the grand jury. Trump said in his post that he has been given "a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and indictment." Aides did not immediately respond to questions seeking further information.
Prosecutors in Georgia are conducting a separate investigation into efforts by Trump to reverse his election loss in that state, with the top prosecutor in Fulton County signaling that she expects to announce charging decisions next month.
In his post on Tuesday, Trump wrote that "they have now effectively indicted me three times ... with a probably fourth coming from Atlanta" and added in capital letters, "This witch hunt is all about election interference and a complete and total political weaponization of law enforcement."
Trump was indicted last month on 37 federal felony counts in relation to accusations of illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. He has pleaded not guilty. A pretrial conference in that case was set for Tuesday in Fort Pierce, Fla.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report.
More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
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Any PotUS who engaged in an attempt to steal an election with coercion, lies and unconstitutional maneuvers should be held accountable. If not, a horrible precedent is set further compromising an already damaged political system.
trump has announced this news in order to fund raise off of it. ... shocking, I know. it's hard to imagine his due process being resolved without any violence, which he continues to foment at every occasion.
"an attempt to steal an election with coercion, lies and unconstitutional maneuvers should be held accountable."
These are only political allegations that that need to be proven in a court of law. But TPTB better hurry up and charge him with something soon. If by some miracle he gets reelected, they won't be able to impeach him...again.
Oh hell, another partisan ignoring reality in order to leap to Trump's defense.
Why do you continue to defend the indefensible?
At least he gets it
The constant defense of the indefensible is fucking mind boggling.
Does it matter? He will just claim victimhood and his cultists will believe him no matter the evidence.
Yes. It matters that our system of justice does what it is supposed to do — hold people accountable regardless of celebrity, wealth, status or political connections.
it had better...
Do you truly believe Trump will be held accountable for his many misdeeds? He will be tried, and he will probably be found guilty of some if not all of his indictments. But do you really believe anything will come of that? Do you really see him going to prison?
I am anxious to see what happens. I make no prediction.
My comment is that I support our system of justice trying to hold Trump accountable. It is important that our system do that.
Maybe. Hope so.
I doubt he will ever go to prison. Being found guilty and barred from any political office might be the extent of his punishment.
Right now, I am more concerned about holding him accountable. Let's take this one step at a time.
I see him fleeing the country before that...
Might be tough to do with his secret service detail intact.
as a taxpayer, I wouldn't like the idea of a convicted felon being protected by the secret service. I'd be more of a let nature take it's course type of person in that regard.
he seems to have done quite a bit of criminal activity with them being none the wiser...
I doubt he would be able to leave the country without them knowing it.
But would they stop him? Not in their job descriptions.
Seems to me, letting a former PotUS leave your sphere of protection goes against your secret service job description.
Possibly, but putting him in custody to prevent him from travelling under his free will is somewhat un-Constitutional.
How so? If someone is indicted, they can be deemed a flight risk by the judge.
I could be wrong, but to the best of my knowledge Trump has not been ordered by a judge to relinquish his passport or anything.
Yeah, I do not think such an order has been made. But it could be made.
And most likely SHOULD be made.
I'm cool with that!
they aren't flying his plane.
It appears that Trump will be indicted for something related to insurrection.
If this doesnt cause a mass rush for the exits among the "borderline" Trumpsters, nothing will.
I'm not holding my breath though.
his core base wants america to become an authoritarian state ruled by an autocratic dictator.
Said no one ever, truthfully.
Dev Just Did!
Said no one ever, truthfully.
I am not expecting this to change the positions of those who continue to support Trump ... even those on the fence.
Those who would consider voting for Trump under any circumstances (even prior to this potential indictment) are likely beyond reason.
Likely? Excuse me, but they are definitely beyond reason.
Listening to some of the trumpsters making excuses for him, I am on the nothing will side. They refuse to believe they were wrong about him since that would mean that, well they were wrong. Trumpsters have the same capacity to admitting their mistakes as their cult leader Trump does, and he has never admitted to even the most blatant mistakes that he has made.
Dangerous criminals should be incarcerated...
What would the FBI/DOJ do if they didn't have Trump and Jan 6th to spend every damn second of their lives obsessing over?
Maybe their damn jobs.
Either the law applies to everyone or no one. Democrats are hastening the day that it will apply to no one.
Your guy is a traitor.
Do you think it is unfair to hold Trump accountable for his wrongdoing in his Big Lie (and that includes his behavior on and before Jan 6th)?
The fact there is a chance Trump could regain power after his January 6th Insurrection should consume every person with a vote to stop him...
Who most wants Trump to regain power?
We've already seen that the Democrats won't apply the law to themselves. Their "Big Lie" turned out to be 100% fiction, cost the taxpayers millions and continues today.
You believe it fiction that Trump lied to the world that the US electoral system was rigged, that Biden is not the legitimate PotUS and that tens of millions of voters were disenfranchised??
You can watch Trump as he emits lies to the planet as PotUS. Here, 9 minutes long. You cannot see Trump lying to the world that the USA electoral system was rigged, that Biden is not the legitimate PotUS and that the US electorate was disenfranchised??
If you take the time to read and comprehend my comment you'll see that I didn't mention Trump lying. I mentioned the Democrats lying.
Please try to keep up.
The "Big Lie" is the label given to Trump's 2020 post-election-loss lying / coercion / cheating campaign. Don't use a common label if you have secretly redefined it to mean something else.
So do you believe it fiction that Trump lied to the world that the US electoral system was rigged, that Biden is not the legitimate PotUS and that tens of millions of voters were disenfranchised??
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What you indicate is that you are fearful to acknowledge any wrongdoing by Trump. You cannot even acknowledge that his Big Lie was wrong.
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PLEASE come up with something other than this tired shit already. We've been through this, I've answered you. Now if my answer isn't want you want to hear, that's not my problem.
That is a lie. You have never acknowledged Trump's wrongdoing and have only deflected as you are doing right now.
I hear banjos...
especially since it's blatantly untrue
i await your proof as such.
Every comment here shows your refusal to acknowledge Trump's wrongdoing.
Why you are so afraid of facing undeniable reality is fascinating.
Thing is, I doubt there is a person on this site who does not know that you, at every turn, refuse to acknowledge Trump's wrongdoing.
Still waiting on that proof.
What wrongdoing? Define and elaborate.
Pathetic.
Here is a little experiment for you. Watch the video I provided @5.4.1 and see if you can spot anything that Trump says that is wrong and net negative for our nation.
Yep, that's a typical deflection.
You also posted this ( 5.4 ):
We've already seen that the Democrats won't apply the law to themselves. Their "Big Lie" turned out to be 100% fiction, cost the taxpayers millions and continues today.
Opinions will vary.
I know what I posted.
and squealing
everyone does...
Twice the traitor said - we were winning - then said - we won.
Peons protecting the ''Boss''...
Kevin McCarthy was particularly odious today.
they've had generations of practice justifying the most unamerican of ideals...