Trump says he is DOJ Jan. 6 grand jury investigation target

Brooke Singman, Anders Hagstrom
Fox News
Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:30 UTC

© Mario Tama/Getty Images

Former President Trump • Nevada Republican recruiting event • Fervent Calvary Chapel
July 8, 2023 • Las Vegas, Nevada

Former President Trump says he expects to face both an arrest and indictment...

Former President Trump says he received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith stating that he is the target of a Jan. 6 grand jury investigation on Tuesday.

Trump said he initially received the letter on Sunday and said he expects to face both an arrest and indictment.

A government source with direct knowledge of the situation also told Fox News that Smith's office sent Trump a target letter.

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

"Deranged Jack Smith, prosecutor with Joe Biden's DOJ, sent a letter (again it was a Sunday night!) stating that I am the TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury Investigation, and giving me a very short four days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest an indictment.

"So now, Joe Biden's Attorney General, Merrick Garland, who I turned down for the United States Supreme Court (in retrospect, based on his corrupt and unethical actions, a very wise decision!), together with Joe Biden's Department of Injustice, have effectively issued a third indictment and arrest of Joe Biden's NUMBER ONE POLITICAL OPPONENT, who is largely dominating him in the race for the Presidency.

"Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before, or even close."

Pointing to the Trump-Russia investigation, which began in 2016, Trump said:

"They illegally spied on my Campaign, attacked me with a totally Fake 'Dossier' that was funded by Hillary Clinton's Campaign and the DNC."

Special Counsel John Durham, in May, released his highly-anticipated report after years of investigating the origins of that investigation, and found it never should have been opened.

Reflecting further, Trump said he was impeached twice, but "won," meaning he was acquitted both times by the Senate.

"They failed on the Mueller Witch Hunt (No Collusion!), they failed on Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, the 51 'intelligence' agents fraud, the FBI/Twitter files, the DOJ/Facebook censorship, and every other scam imaginable."

He next pointed to his indictment out of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office this spring.

© Fox News/screenshot/AP

Special Counsel Jack Smith has promised a speedy trial for the former president and noted defendants are presumed innocent.

Trump also said a "probable fourth" indictment could be coming from Atlanta, which has been investigating whether he pressured election officials to change the outcome of the 2020 election.

He wrote:

"THIS WITCH HUNT IS ALL ABOUT ELECTION INTERFERENCE AND A COMPLETE AND TOTAL POLITICAL WEAPONIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. It is a very sad and dark period for our Nation!"

As for Jan. 6, 2021, Trump said that under the Constitution

"I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen, just as the Democrats have done against me in 2016, and many others have done over the ages.

"But the Democrats have gone much further than has ever happened before — they cheated on the elections. Rather than looking at the CHEATERS, the WEAPONIZED DOJ AND FBI target and harass those who complain about the cheaters, and the massive fraud that took place."

Trump went on to say: all investigations against him are

"All investigations against me are hoaxes and scams made to stop me from fighting for the American people — BUT I WILL NEVER STOP! This has been a never-ending fight from the day I came down the escalator in Trump Tower, many years ago."

Trump's comments and the notice from Smith's office come after the former president pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges stemming from Smith's investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records at Mar-a-Lago last month. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

The indictment from Smith's classified records investigation is the first time in United States history that a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

Comment: Domestic Revolution ahead? The case is primed with yet another negative:

The Georgia Supreme Court denied former President Donald Trump's bid to block a grand jury report Monday.

In a unanimous ruling, the court refused to quash an upcoming report from the special grand jury empaneled by Fulton County Fani Willis, who launched the probe into Trump's efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election. Willis announced in April that the probe could lead to the indictment of Trump.

Trump's attorneys petitioned the Georgia Supreme Court to quash the report of the special grand jury and to disqualify Willis, Newsmax reported.

"Petitioner has not shown that this case presents one of those extremely rare circumstances in which this Court's original jurisdiction should be invoked, and therefore, the petition is dismissed," the unsigned opinion said.

Emily Kohrs, the forewoman of a special grand jury that investigated the former president and his allies for their efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election's result, gave multiple interviews on cable networks, including CNN and MSNBC, saying she anticipated indictments to result from the probe and expressing excitement at the possibility of confronting former President Trump.

Kohrs' media tour prompted backlash from across the political spectrum, including CNN and ABC's The View, whose co-hosts fretted that Kohrs may "destroy" the case against Trump.