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Washington: ex The president is us Donald trump He said on Tuesday he expects to be indicted over the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol — an indictment that would add to his legal troubles as he runs for the White House again.
The 77-year-old Trump – who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – is already facing criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for mishandling top-secret government documents after he left the White House.
Trump said he received a letter from Smith on Sunday saying he was a target of investigation on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed Congress in an effort to prevent Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election from being certified.
“Jack Smith, the attorney general in Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, sent a message… saying I’m being targeted for a grand jury investigation on January 6,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump, the current frontrunner for his party’s presidential nomination, said he was given “four very short days” to report to a grand jury, “which always means arrest and indictment.”
“This witch hunt is about election interference and total and total political arming of law enforcement,” Trump said. “It is a very sad and dark period for our nation!”
It was not immediately clear what specific charges Trump might face twice.
Before the Capitol attack, Trump gave a fiery speech nearby urging the crowd to “fight like hell” and Smith was looking at Jan. 6 and Trump’s broader efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel declined to comment.
An unnamed Trump adviser told The Washington Post that the former president will refuse to appear before the grand jury investigating the Capitol riot, which has already heard testimony from a number of Trump confidants.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested for participating in what prosecutors have described as an insurrection aimed at keeping Trump in the White House.
Most of them face charges of illegally entering the Capitol or causing damage to property, but about 350 of them have been charged with assaulting law enforcement officers or resisting arrest.
Others, including members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, were convicted of the more serious charge of sedition conspiracy.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is vying with Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, told Fox News that issuing another indictment would be a “distraction.”
“We can’t keep dealing with this drama,” Hayley said.
“We can’t just sit there and focus on lawsuits over and over,” she said.
“And that’s why I’m running. It’s because we need a new generation leader.”
Smith indicted Trump in June for allegedly hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida residence — the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Trump has been charged with 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information,” each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He also faces charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements and other crimes.
According to the indictment, Trump kept records from the Pentagon, the CIA, and the National Security Agency unlocked at his Mar-a-Lago home.
The judge presiding over the documents case is scheduled to hold a hearing in Florida later on Tuesday to discuss when the trial should begin.
Prosecutors have asked US District Judge Eileen Cannon to begin in December, while Trump’s defense attorneys have asked for it to begin after the November 2024 presidential election.
Georgia prosecutors are also investigating whether Trump tried to illegally overturn the result of the southern state’s presidential election.
In the Truth Social post, Trump said he has “the right to protest an election that I am absolutely convinced is rigged and stolen” and said he is being targeted for the upcoming election.
Trump said the Justice Department “has effectively issued a third indictment and arrest of Joe Biden’s number one political challenger, who is very much in control of him in the race for the presidency.”
“Nothing like this has happened in our country before, or even near it.”
According to the Post, a targeted letter does not necessarily imply accusations against the recipient.
Trump pleaded not guilty in New York earlier this year to a case involving election-eve payments to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who said she had an affair with him.
The 77-year-old Trump – who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – is already facing criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for mishandling top-secret government documents after he left the White House.
Trump said he received a letter from Smith on Sunday saying he was a target of investigation on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed Congress in an effort to prevent Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election from being certified.
“Jack Smith, the attorney general in Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, sent a message… saying I’m being targeted for a grand jury investigation on January 6,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump, the current frontrunner for his party’s presidential nomination, said he was given “four very short days” to report to a grand jury, “which always means arrest and indictment.”
“This witch hunt is about election interference and total and total political arming of law enforcement,” Trump said. “It is a very sad and dark period for our nation!”
It was not immediately clear what specific charges Trump might face twice.
Before the Capitol attack, Trump gave a fiery speech nearby urging the crowd to “fight like hell” and Smith was looking at Jan. 6 and Trump’s broader efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel declined to comment.
An unnamed Trump adviser told The Washington Post that the former president will refuse to appear before the grand jury investigating the Capitol riot, which has already heard testimony from a number of Trump confidants.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested for participating in what prosecutors have described as an insurrection aimed at keeping Trump in the White House.
Most of them face charges of illegally entering the Capitol or causing damage to property, but about 350 of them have been charged with assaulting law enforcement officers or resisting arrest.
Others, including members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, were convicted of the more serious charge of sedition conspiracy.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is vying with Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, told Fox News that issuing another indictment would be a “distraction.”
“We can’t keep dealing with this drama,” Hayley said.
“We can’t just sit there and focus on lawsuits over and over,” she said.
“And that’s why I’m running. It’s because we need a new generation leader.”
Smith indicted Trump in June for allegedly hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida residence — the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Trump has been charged with 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information,” each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He also faces charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements and other crimes.
According to the indictment, Trump kept records from the Pentagon, the CIA, and the National Security Agency unlocked at his Mar-a-Lago home.
The judge presiding over the documents case is scheduled to hold a hearing in Florida later on Tuesday to discuss when the trial should begin.
Prosecutors have asked US District Judge Eileen Cannon to begin in December, while Trump’s defense attorneys have asked for it to begin after the November 2024 presidential election.
Georgia prosecutors are also investigating whether Trump tried to illegally overturn the result of the southern state’s presidential election.
In the Truth Social post, Trump said he has “the right to protest an election that I am absolutely convinced is rigged and stolen” and said he is being targeted for the upcoming election.
Trump said the Justice Department “has effectively issued a third indictment and arrest of Joe Biden’s number one political challenger, who is very much in control of him in the race for the presidency.”
“Nothing like this has happened in our country before, or even near it.”
According to the Post, a targeted letter does not necessarily imply accusations against the recipient.
Trump pleaded not guilty in New York earlier this year to a case involving election-eve payments to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who said she had an affair with him.
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