Unpacking Trump’s latest legal woes

Former President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning that his attorneys notified him of a target letter they received from special counsel Jack Smith on Sunday, meaning it is likely Trump will face charges related to his actions after the 2020 election.

“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’s statement said.

A target letter from the Department of Justice is a formal written notice telling an individual that they are the focus of a federal grand jury investigation.

This often means the Department of Justice has gathered evidence linking the individual to a crime. However, being the recipient of a target letter doesn’t necessarily mean the individual will be charged, but informs them they are under investigation.

Trump followed up his statement with an additional post, calling the investigation a “witch hunt” and suggesting the charges are political.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in November as special counsel to oversee two specific criminal investigations.

The first was to establish “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021,” per The Department’s Office of Public Affairs.”

The second “is the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation, referenced and described in court filings submitted in a pending matter in the Southern District of Florida.”

After being arraigned in a South Florida federal court in June over his handling of classified documents, Trump pleaded not guilty.

Trump is the only former president to ever be indicted, per Reuters.

If Trump is charged by the Jan. 6 grand jury, this will be the third time the former president has been indicted in federal court this year, with a potential fourth set of charges coming based on a criminal investigation by the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, related to the 2020 election, per NBC News.

In March, Trump was charged by a Manhattan grand jury, over allegations that he fabricated records related to payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his campaign for president in 2016. A month ago, Trump was indicted “in a Florida courthouse over his handling of classified documents, pleading not guilty to 37 felony counts,” the Deseret News previously reported.

Former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman posted a thread of tweets on Twitter saying, “Jack Smith sending President Trump a target letter and then indicating he has to appear in front of the Grand Jury makes no sense. 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.”

According to a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll released in May on charges against Trump, “Among Republicans, a majority say it either won’t change how they vote or the charges make them more likely to support the former president.”

The latest national polls for the Republican presidential primary show Trump is ahead with 50.4%, up 28.9 points ahead of DeSantis, who sits second with 21.5%.

In an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll on investigations into Trump, they found that “45% of Republicans think Trump did nothing wrong” and “76% of Republicans want Trump to be president, again.”

However, many of Trump’s 2024 competitors say they are exhausted by the constant investigations into Trump.

Related

• Majority of Utah voters think indictment against Trump was ‘politically motivated’

• Poll: Will voters support Trump despite his indictment?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said charges against Trump are “an attempt to criminalize politics and to try to criminalize differences,” but that Trump should have done more to prevent the Capitol riots, per The New York Times.

In an interview with Fox News, presidential candidate Nikki Haley called the investigation a “distraction” from real issues that need to be had, according to The Times.

“The rest of this primary election is going to be in reference to Trump: 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 to be a further and further distraction,” she said. “And that’s why I am running, is because we need a new generational leader. We can’t keep dealing with this drama.”

In June when Trump was indicted in Florida, Haley posted her thoughts on the charges on Twitter: “This is not how justice should be pursued in our country. The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics. It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions.”

Attorneys for Smith and Trump met Tuesday at a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, to discuss a trial date.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said she is likely to hold off the beginning of a trial in the Mar-a-Lago case “beyond the mid-December date proposed by federal prosecutors,” per CNN.

Meanwhile, Trump is set to participate in a town hall Tuesday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity.