Trump Receives Target Letter From Jack Smith, Notifying Him That He Is Subject In January 6 Investigation

Former President Donald Trump received a target letter on Tuesday from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office. The letter informed Trump that he is a subject in the investigation into the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Target letters are communication from prosecutors to subjects in an investigation. They advise the subjects that investigators have obtained evidence linking them to crimes and put them on notice that charges may be brought against them.

Smith has been conducting the probe into January 6 and claims of 2020 election fraud since Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him last November. The Justice Department has been working to gather evidence against Trump and his allies, seizing the phones of ex-Trump aides and subpoenaing a number of witnesses.

On Tuesday, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to announce the news.

“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 6 grand jury investigation, and giving me a very short four days to report to the grand jury, which almost always means an arrest and indictment,” the former president wrote.

This marks the second target letter that Smith has issued Trump: the first came in June when the special counsel’s office notified him that he was being investigated for willful retention of national security information.

Trump was indicted on 37 counts and was arrested and arraigned at the Miami federal courthouse, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. The former president is awaiting the start of the trial, which could be as early as August 14.

Amid his campaign for the 2024 presidential election, Trump’s increasing legal woes are raising questions about his ability to remain in the race. Though he is the current Republican frontrunner, a number of political experts and officials have asserted that Trump should concede.

White House officials have declined to comment on the target letter, citing President Joe Biden’s decision that the president should not interfere with Justice Department investigations.

Article by Ava Lombardi