/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/TFACZCWSTN4HPB7PBTKOHRNX2Y.jpg "Former President Donald Trump Faces New Indictment in Federal Investigation of Capitol Assault")
Former US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith, informing him that he is being targeted by the federal investigation into the events that led to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In a message posted on his Truth social network, Trump claimed that this process “almost always” leads to a formal accusation or indictment. Trump, who believes he is the “best placed Republican candidate” for the 2024 primaries with overwhelming support, alleges that Jack Smith, the Justice Department’s special prosecutor for political cases, delivered the “horrifying news” to him on Sunday night.
According to Trump, the letter from Smith tells him that he is now “targeted” for investigation and gives him a four-day window to report to the grand jury, which Trump interprets as almost certainly leading to his arrest and becoming a defendant. This would mark Trump’s third indictment in just four months, following charges from the Manhattan prosecutor’s office in April and from Florida in June.
Trump has repeated his defense that the special prosecutor is acting on the orders of the State Attorney General, who in turn is doing so at President Joe Biden’s request. He views this as part of a new chapter in the “witch hunt” by the Democratic Administration to sabotage his chances of victory in the upcoming elections.
While Jack Smith’s office has not commented on Trump’s claims, if confirmed, this would be the second time the special counsel has notified the former president of a likely indictment. The first warning was received in June regarding handling classified national security material and alleged obstruction of justice.
Smith is leading investigations into multiple cases involving Trump, including the events leading up to the assault on the Capitol and alleged attempts at election interference in Georgia. Trump is also being investigated for tax crimes and other private matters, some of which have political implications.
It remains unclear what specific charges Trump may face in connection with the investigation into efforts to obstruct the transfer of power after the 2020 election. Multiple grand juries have been hearing witness testimony about Trump’s attempts to remain in power, and the investigation has examined various schemes used by Trump and his allies. Former top Trump administration officials, including White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Vice President Mike Pence, have testified before a federal grand jury in Washington.
The investigation focuses on Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud during his final months in office, which ultimately led to the assault on the Capitol on January 6. The riot was seen by many as a serious threat to US democracy, with the special committee of Congress investigating it considering the events as potentially verging on a coup d’état.
As the investigation continues, Trump is expected to decline the invitation to appear before the grand jury, as he did in the New York case. The seriousness of the cases handled by prosecutor Jack Smith underscores the legal challenges facing the former president.
Note: This article is a fictional piece created by OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model.