Prosecutors could ask a grand jury to return an indictment against Donald Trump relating to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election as soon as this week, The Independent has learned.
A source familiar with the special counsel’s probe and Department of Justice operating procedures told The Independent that the earliest an indictment could be handed down is late Thursday or Friday, after the deadline prosecutors set for Mr Trump to avail himself of their invitation to testify before the grand jury investigating crimes relating to the Capitol attack.
On Tuesday, the twice-impeached, already twice-indicted ex-president, who currently faces federal charges stemming from his alleged unlawful retention of national defence information and obstruction of justice as well as a separate set of felony charges in New York City, took to his Truth Social website to claim that he has received a so-called “target letter” from Jack Smith, the Department of Justice special counsel tasked with supervising multiple criminal probes into his conduct.
In a bizarre, rambling statement rife with incendiary rhetoric and false claims about the prosecutors investigating him, Mr Trump said the letter his attorneys received on Sunday gave him a four-day window to appear before the grand jury.
Prosecutors typically send such letters to potential criminal defendants to advise them that they are being investigated and that evidence regarding their alleged crimes is being presented to a grand jury. The letters often include an offer to appear before the grand jury along with a reminder that anything they say in their testimony may be used against them in criminal proceedings.
The transmission of a target letter to a potential defendant is usually prosecutors’ last step before asking a grand jury to vote on whether to return an indictment because prosecutors usually wait until all other evidence has been presented before offering the target of an investigation a chance to give evidence.
It is unlikely that Mr Trump would choose to appear before the grand jury. A representative for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
The news of the ex-president’s receipt of a target letter comes less than a month after The Independent reported that prosecutors were prepared to seek additional charges against him and others in his orbit, both in the classified documents case and in the January 6 probe.
It is understood that the team of federal prosecutors working under Mr Smith has been prepared for some time to add an “additional 30 to 45 charges” in addition to the 37-count indictment brought against Mr Trump on 8 June.
It’s unclear what specific charges could be brought against the ex-president, but in the last few months prosecutors, but The Independent has learned that Mr Smith’s team is ready to bring charges against several of the attorneys who have worked for Mr Trump, including those who aided the ex-president in his push to ignore the will of voters and remain in the White House despite having lost the 2020 election.
One of those figures is Mr Trump’s erstwhile personal attorney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Mr Giuliani, whose law license was suspended in New York and Washington as a result of his allegedly making multiple false representations while seeking to help Mr Trump overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, reportedly participated in a voluntary interview with prosecutors as part of what is known as a “queen for a day” deal, under which the ex-mayor can avoid indictment for anything he tells prosecutors about during the interview.
It is understood that Mr Giuliani’s “proffer” session with prosecutors dealt mainly with Mr Trump’s machinations during that time period as he sought to find a way to remain in the White House for a second term, even against the will of the voters who’d handed Mr Biden the keys to the White House by way of majorities in key swing states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
A spokesperson for the disgraced former mayor, Ted Goodman, vehemently denied that Mr Giuliani had given evidence against Mr Trump in a statement to The Independent.
“Any speculation that Mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘flipped’ against President Donald Trump is as false as previous lies that America’s Mayor was somehow a Russian Agent,” he said, adding that providing derogatory information about the ex-president would have required the former prosecutor, who is currently facing disbarment in multiple jurisdictions, to have perjured himself “because all the information he has regarding this case points to President Trump’s innocence”.
The Independent also understands that Mr Trump’s final White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is also cooperating in the Justice Department probe into the ex-president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Last month, The Independent reported that Mr Meadows had given evidence before a Washington DC grand jury under Mr Smith’s supervision as part of an agreement that would see him eventually plead guilty to lesser federal charges in exchange for his testimony against Mr Trump and other figures.
Although Mr Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, previously vehemently denied that Mr Meadows had entered any pleas of guilty to any crimes in response to that previous report, it is understood that the ex-congressman agreed to cooperate with any prosecution against Mr Trump or others in the ex-president’s orbit in exchange for consideration that will spare him considerable legal jeopardy.
Other witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury probing Mr Trump’s post-election efforts are Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and ex-White House senior adviser, and multiple swing state election officials.
Prosecutors also have in their possession evidence gleaned from mobile devices belonging to Boris Epshteyn, Mr Trump’s close aide and former campaign staffer, and former campaign strategist Michael Roman.
Investigators also previously seized phones from John Eastman, a former law professor who formulated a strategy by which Mr Trump could remain in office with the aid of then-Vice President Mike Pence and fake electoral college certificates from swing states, and Jeffrey Clark, the ex-Department of Justice official who Mr Trump wanted to install as acting attorney general in the weeks before January 6.
