Trump says he was given 4 days to "report" to grand jury investigating 2020 election interference
From CNN's Jeremy Herb
Former US President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a Farmers for Trump campaign event at the MidAmerica Center on July 7, 2023 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump says he was told in the target letter to “report” to the grand jury within four days of receiving it on Sunday, according to a Truth Social post.
While Trump didn’t say specifically why he was told to report, individuals who receive a target letter typically are given the chance to appear before a grand jury to defend themselves before charges are brought.
In his social media post, Trump claimed that he had “the right” to protest the election.
“Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen, just as Democrats have done against me in 2016, and many others have done over the ages,” Trump wrote.
Other Trump investigations: In the classified documents case, 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, the grand jury returned an indictment against Trump and his co-defendant and aide Walt Nauta.
3 min ago
Here's what a target letter means
From CNN's Jeremy Herb
A target letter from federal prosecutors to former President Donald Trump makes clear that prosecutors are focused on Trump’s actions in the investigation into overturning the 2020 election -- and not just of those around him who tried to stop his election loss.
Justice Department regulations allow for prosecutors to notify subjects of an investigation that they have become a target. Often a notification that a person is a target is a strong sign an indictment could follow, but it is possible the recipient is not ultimately charged.
Those notifications aren’t required, but prosecutors have the discretion to notify subjects that they have become a target. Once informed, a target has the opportunity to present evidence or testify to the grand jury if they choose.
Special counsel Jack Smith has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including putting forward fake electors in states Trump lost and a pressure campaign against his then-Vice President Mike Pence to try to overturn the election when Congress certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6.
6 min ago
Prosecutors have interviewed dozens of witnesses as part of 2020 election aftermath probe
From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Paula Reid, Kaitlan Collins and Alayna Treene
Then-US President Donald Trump listens to Vice President Mike Pence and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, May 28, 2020. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Dozens of witnesses have spoken to prosecutors and testified before the grand jury in the 2020 election investigation, including a lengthy list of top aides to Donald Trump in the White House as well as former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump said Tuesday he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the election. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that Trump received the letter.
In recent months, prosecutors have also interviewed election officials in the seven battleground states where Trump’s team falsely claimed fraud and put forward fake electors after the 2020 election.
In addition, prosecutors have focused on a chaotic December 2020 Oval Office meeting in the final days of the Trump administration, in which Trump’s advisers discussed seizing voting machines, naming a special counsel to investigate voter fraud and invoking martial law as part of the efforts to overturn the election.
A number of Trump lawyers also have spoken to federal investigators. Last month, Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani met with investigators for a voluntary interview over two days that covered a range of topics, including the tumultuous December 2020 meeting that he attended, CNN previously reported.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello, tells CNN that Giuliani has not received a target letter.
3 min ago
Trump allies rush to his defense
From CNN's Lauren Fox
Rep. Jim Jordan waits to testify during a House Rules Committee on May 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Jim Jordan, House Judiciary Committee chair, said he saw former President Donald Trump's statement that he's the target of the special counsel's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
"This is as wrong as it gets," Jordan said.
He called it another "ridiculous" move by the Justice Department.
"They've been after him from day one," conservative Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, another fierce Trump ally, accused the DOJ of wanting to lock Trump up because he's winning the election.
"They're going to arrest President Trump. Charge him with phony fake charges, and then hold him in prison while he is winning the Republican primary while he's going to win the general election in 2024," she said. "Is this is this where our country is now? Because it's an embarrassment on the world stage. If this is the direction America is going in, we are worse than Russia. We are worse than China. "
3 min ago
Trump said he's a target of the special counsel’s probe into 2020 election aftermath. Here's what to know
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz and Jeremy Herb
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton on June 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“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 posted on Truth Social.
Trump also received a target letter earlier this year from Smith before he was indicted in the investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. A spokesperson for the special counsel declined to comment.
What this means: A target letter from federal prosecutors to Trump makes clear that prosecutors are focused on Trump’s actions in the investigation into overturning the 2020 election – and not just of those around him who tried to stop his election loss.
Justice Department regulations allow for prosecutors to notify subjects of an investigation that they have become a target. Often a notification that a person is a target is a strong sign an indictment could follow, but it is possible the recipient is not ultimately charged.
Those notifications aren’t required, but prosecutors have the discretion to notify subjects that they have become a target. Once informed, a target has the opportunity to present evidence or testify to the grand jury if they choose.
Smith has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including putting forward fake electors in states Trump lost and a pressure campaign against his then-Vice President Mike Pence to try to overturn the election when Congress certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6.
The grand jury investigating 2020 election interference is meeting today at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC.
15 min ago
A hearing is also taking place Tuesday on handling classified materials in Jack Smith’s Trump case
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Special Counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump. Getty Images
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team and lawyers for Donald Trump will appear Tuesday for the first time in front of the judge who will preside over the criminal case Smith has brought against the former president, for a hearing that will be procedural nature but could provoke clashes over how quickly the classified documents case should move to trial.
Both sides have asked to push the trial date months later than this summer – with Trump wanting it potentially after the 2024 election – and US District Judge Aileen Cannon has ordered the parties to be prepared to discuss prosecutors’ proposal that the trial happen much sooner, starting in mid-December of this year.
The hearing – which will be held in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida – was sought by the prosecutors under a provision of the Classified Information Procedures Act, which establishes the process for deciding how the highly secretive government documents that are at the heart of the prosecution will be handled in the case. Such a proceeding is usually mundane in nature – the substance of the classified materials that Trump allegedly refused to return to the government will not be discussed – and typically focused on a scheduling plan for fulfilling the steps that CIPA lays out.
But prosecutors, in court filings, have been at odds with attorneys for Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, about how much the trial should be delayed, and Tuesday’s hearing could set the stage for the scheduling conflict to play out head-to-head.
Trump himself is not expected to attend to the hearing, but Nauta – who is a bodyman to the former president – may attend, sources told CNN.
Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A spokesperson for Smith declined to comment.
A target letter from federal prosecutors to Trump makes clear that prosecutors are focused on Trump’s actions in the investigation into overturning the 2020 election – and not just of those around him who tried to stop his election loss.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a Farmers for Trump campaign event at the MidAmerica Center on July 7, 2023 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump says he was told in the target letter to “report” to the grand jury within four days of receiving it on Sunday, according to a Truth Social post.
While Trump didn’t say specifically why he was told to report, individuals who receive a target letter typically are given the chance to appear before a grand jury to defend themselves before charges are brought.
In his social media post, Trump claimed that he had “the right” to protest the election.
“Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen, just as Democrats have done against me in 2016, and many others have done over the ages,” Trump wrote.
Other Trump investigations: In the classified documents case, 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, the grand jury returned an indictment against Trump and his co-defendant and aide Walt Nauta.
A target letter from federal prosecutors to former President Donald Trump makes clear that prosecutors are focused on Trump’s actions in the investigation into overturning the 2020 election -- and not just of those around him who tried to stop his election loss.
Justice Department regulations allow for prosecutors to notify subjects of an investigation that they have become a target. Often a notification that a person is a target is a strong sign an indictment could follow, but it is possible the recipient is not ultimately charged.
Those notifications aren’t required, but prosecutors have the discretion to notify subjects that they have become a target. Once informed, a target has the opportunity to present evidence or testify to the grand jury if they choose.
Special counsel Jack Smith has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including putting forward fake electors in states Trump lost and a pressure campaign against his then-Vice President Mike Pence to try to overturn the election when Congress certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6.
Then-US President Donald Trump listens to Vice President Mike Pence and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, May 28, 2020. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Dozens of witnesses have spoken to prosecutors and testified before the grand jury in the 2020 election investigation, including a lengthy list of top aides to Donald Trump in the White House as well as former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump said Tuesday he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the election. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that Trump received the letter.
In recent months, prosecutors have also interviewed election officials in the seven battleground states where Trump’s team falsely claimed fraud and put forward fake electors after the 2020 election.
In addition, prosecutors have focused on a chaotic December 2020 Oval Office meeting in the final days of the Trump administration, in which Trump’s advisers discussed seizing voting machines, naming a special counsel to investigate voter fraud and invoking martial law as part of the efforts to overturn the election.
A number of Trump lawyers also have spoken to federal investigators. Last month, Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani met with investigators for a voluntary interview over two days that covered a range of topics, including the tumultuous December 2020 meeting that he attended, CNN previously reported.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello, tells CNN that Giuliani has not received a target letter.
Rep. Jim Jordan waits to testify during a House Rules Committee on May 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Jim Jordan, House Judiciary Committee chair, said he saw former President Donald Trump's statement that he's the target of the special counsel's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
"This is as wrong as it gets," Jordan said.
He called it another "ridiculous" move by the Justice Department.
"They've been after him from day one," conservative Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, another fierce Trump ally, accused the DOJ of wanting to lock Trump up because he's winning the election.
"They're going to arrest President Trump. Charge him with phony fake charges, and then hold him in prison while he is winning the Republican primary while he's going to win the general election in 2024," she said. "Is this is this where our country is now? Because it's an embarrassment on the world stage. If this is the direction America is going in, we are worse than Russia. We are worse than China. "
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton on June 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“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 posted on Truth Social.
Trump also received a target letter earlier this year from Smith before he was indicted in the investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. A spokesperson for the special counsel declined to comment.
What this means: A target letter from federal prosecutors to Trump makes clear that prosecutors are focused on Trump’s actions in the investigation into overturning the 2020 election – and not just of those around him who tried to stop his election loss.
Justice Department regulations allow for prosecutors to notify subjects of an investigation that they have become a target. Often a notification that a person is a target is a strong sign an indictment could follow, but it is possible the recipient is not ultimately charged.
Those notifications aren’t required, but prosecutors have the discretion to notify subjects that they have become a target. Once informed, a target has the opportunity to present evidence or testify to the grand jury if they choose.
Smith has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including putting forward fake electors in states Trump lost and a pressure campaign against his then-Vice President Mike Pence to try to overturn the election when Congress certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on January 6.
The grand jury investigating 2020 election interference is meeting today at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC.
Special Counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump. Getty Images
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team and lawyers for Donald Trump will appear Tuesday for the first time in front of the judge who will preside over the criminal case Smith has brought against the former president, for a hearing that will be procedural nature but could provoke clashes over how quickly the classified documents case should move to trial.
Both sides have asked to push the trial date months later than this summer – with Trump wanting it potentially after the 2024 election – and US District Judge Aileen Cannon has ordered the parties to be prepared to discuss prosecutors’ proposal that the trial happen much sooner, starting in mid-December of this year.
The hearing – which will be held in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida – was sought by the prosecutors under a provision of the Classified Information Procedures Act, which establishes the process for deciding how the highly secretive government documents that are at the heart of the prosecution will be handled in the case. Such a proceeding is usually mundane in nature – the substance of the classified materials that Trump allegedly refused to return to the government will not be discussed – and typically focused on a scheduling plan for fulfilling the steps that CIPA lays out.
But prosecutors, in court filings, have been at odds with attorneys for Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, about how much the trial should be delayed, and Tuesday’s hearing could set the stage for the scheduling conflict to play out head-to-head.
Trump himself is not expected to attend to the hearing, but Nauta – who is a bodyman to the former president – may attend, sources told CNN.
