Former President Donald Trump said he expects to soon be indicted in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The DOJ is probing Trump's alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters, allegedly motivated by his unfounded claims that the election was stolen via widespread voter fraud, rioted at the Capitol in a failed effort to block certification of President Joe Biden's victory. The case is being overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is also working on the DOJ's investigation into whether Trump improperly stored classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Trump has maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of investigating him for political purposes. He wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning that Smith sent a letter to his attorneys stating that he is a target in the January 6 investigation.
"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.
When reached by Newsweek on Tuesday morning, a DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on Trump's post.
Former U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi told Newsweek on Tuesday that the timing of the letter suggests the indictment will be coming in the next few weeks and that the evidence apparently against Trump must be "profound" given the "avalanche of testimony" before the grand jury.
"Put a fork in him, President Trump will surely be indicted. In a routine manner, a target letter is a 95 percent guarantee of being charged," Rossi said. "And this, the most high-profile Justice Department case in history, Jack Smith would not be sending a target letter to President Trump unless he's 100 percent sure he's going to be charged."
He said it is unlikely Trump will testify before the grand jury because doing so would open him to perjury or obstruction charges, as well as potentially providing prosecutors with "tremendous evidence" on the indicted charges.
The DOJ's investigation began with a focus on the Capitol riot but has expanded to include fake elector schemes. Trump allies allegedly planned to send to the Electoral College false slates of pro-Trump electors from states he narrowly lost.
Ultimately, the efforts to thwart the 2020 election results failed, and several investigations and recounts have upheld the integrity of the election.
Trump has been indicted twice this year.
First, he was charged with falsifying business records in the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into an alleged hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. Daniels has claimed to have had an affair with Trump, though he has denied the allegations. Trump has also maintained his innocence in the case, pleading not guilty to all charges.
The DOJ last month indicted Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Federal prosecutors accused Trump of removing classified documents, at least one of which dealt with U.S. military plans, from the White House after leaving office in January 2021 and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts in the case. He has said he did nothing wrong and that the documents were declassified. He has suggested he could declassify them by "thinking about it," rather than going through a formal declassification process, though legal experts have cast doubt on his theory.
Trump has also said he was "legally keeping his own documents," which does not violate federal law, as he believes the Presidential Records Act gave him "every right" to have the documents. He told Fox News host Bret Baier in June that the boxes found at Mar-a-Lago contained newspaper and magazine clippings, rather than classified files.
Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador who is challenging Trump in the GOP primary, said during a Fox News appearance Monday morning that an indictment, like Trump's other legal issues, will be a "distraction" amid the primary.
"The rest of this primary election is going to be in reference to Trump," she said. "It's going to be about lawsuits. It's going to be about legal fees. It's going to be about judges. And it's just going to continue being a further and further distraction. That's why I'm running—is because we need a new generation leader. We can't keep dealing with this drama."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign by email for comment.
