Legal experts and conservative political pundits erupted after former President Donald Trump claimed he received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6th riot.
Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday morning that he expects to face both an arrest and indictment after a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith told the Republican he is “target of the January 6th grand jury investigation.” The Sunday letter gave Trump “4 days to report to the Grand Jury,” the former president claimed.
“Jack Smith sending President Trump a target letter and then indicating he has to appear in front of the Grand Jury makes no sense,” Brett Tolman, former U.S. attorney and the executive director of Right on Crime, posted on Twitter.
“Rarely do you put a target in front of the GJ. They will plead the 5th and you run the risk of compromising your case given Due Process rights.”
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“Having witnessed firsthand their abuse of power, no surprise these partisans now want to arrest Trump on political charges. This is a dire threat to the rule of law,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton tweeted.
Radio host and author Mark Levin wrote on Twitter, “Conservatives and Republicans everywhere should be furious with the SOB rogue Biden prosecutor, the AG who’s approving this farce, and the undeniable DOJ/FBI campaign to destroy Trump and re-elect Biden.”
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Julie Kelly, author and senior contributor to American Greatness, posted that it is possible Trump will be charged with seditious conspiracy.
“Kind of crazy to think that had he illegally bought a gun, lied on the background check form, laundered money, evaded taxes, accepted bribes from foreign oligarchs, and smuggled cocaine into the WH, DOJ would’ve looked the other way,” Federalist CEO Sean Davis tweeted, referencing the DOJ’s investigation into Hunter Biden, in a post that was retweeted by Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance.
“Instead he told people to protest peacefully.”
“The continued politicization and weaponization of the Department of Justice has turned our institutions into enforcers for the Biden administration’s partisan priorities,” Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz posted. “It remains deeply harmful to the rule of law.”
In his post, 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!”
A government source with direct knowledge of the situation tells Fox News that Smith’s office did indeed send Trump a target letter.
Trump is already facing 34 felony charges in New York City related to an indictment alleging the falsification of business records and federal charges related to his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Prosecutors in Georgia are conducting a separate investigation into efforts by Trump to reverse the election results in that state, with the top prosecutor in Fulton County signaling that she expects to announce charging decisions next month.
Associated Press and Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report
