Trump’s lawyers have been warned that the former US president is expected to be indicted following a federal investigation into his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, NBC News reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources.
The report did not say when that decision will be made.
Special counsel Jack Smith is investigating Trump’s actions following the 2020 election, particularly his efforts to try to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Officials have testified that, during his final months in office, Trump pressed them with false claims of voter fraud.
His supporters attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
Trump stated on July 18 that he had received a letter from Smith stating that he was under investigation.
Several US media outlets reported that Trump’s lawyers had arrived for a meeting with officials from Smith’s office. It is common for defense attorneys to meet with federal prosecutors prior to an indictment.
Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges, which he has tried to portray as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Any indictment in the election case would amount to a second round of federal charges by Smith, who was appointed in November by US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Trump’s lawyers previously met with Justice Department officials, including Smith, before a Miami grand jury indicted Trump in June.
Trump pleaded not guilty in Miami to a 37-count indictment charging him with illegally withholding classified government documents after leaving office in 2021 and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors accused him of jeopardizing some of America’s most sensitive national security secrets.
The first charges brought against Trump came in March, when a grand jury convened by the Manhattan district attorney indicted him. In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts accusing him of falsifying business records related to a hush-buying payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she said she had with him.
Trump, 77, leads a crowded field of Republican presidential candidates as he seeks a rematch against Biden, 80, next year.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project