Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith that states he is a target of a criminal investigation related to the 2020 election and his role in the events of January 6, 2023, at the U.S. Capitol.
In June, Smith notified Trump he was being investigated over classified documents. The former president was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury and then arrested.
“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter … 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 posted on Truth Social.
Trump said his lawyers gave him the letter while he was attending an event Sunday night. The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner said it was “HORRIFYING NEWS for our Country.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before, or even close,” Trump wrote.
Smith has been leading an investigation into Trump after being named special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The 37-count indictment in the classified documents case accused the former president of mishandling classified documents and obstructing the investigation.
The special counsel’s January 6 probe follows a Democrat-led House select committee investigation. Trump was impeached for a second time by the House for “incitement of insurrection.” The Senate acquitted him, falling 10 votes short of conviction.
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley told Fox News the special counsel’s letter was a “distraction” from issues such as foreign policy, border security, and the national debt. “And that’s why I am running … because we need a new generational leader,” the Republican presidential candidate said. “We can’t keep dealing with this drama.”
In another case related to Trump, the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday unanimously rejected a bid to quash a grand jury report that recommends indictments after an investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.