Special counsel Jack Smith sent a letter to former President Donald Trump notifying him that he is the target of his criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which legal experts suggest signals that the end of the probe is near.
The letter, which was sent to Trump's legal team in the past few days, suggests that the possibility of another indictment against the former president is imminent, sources told ABC News. Trump has already been indicted twice this year.
While it isn't clear yet what kind of charges Trump could face, this is the second time Smith has informed Trump that he is a target of a federal investigation. The former president also received a letter regarding his mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them just days before he was indicted.
"Prosecutors send a target letter to a person after a grand jury has identified them as a likely defendant," former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, told Salon. "It usually accompanies an invitation to the target to testify to their side of the story. Because of the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, a person is permitted to decline the invitation to testify, and usually does. While a target letter can come at any point in an investigation, in this case, I would expect that this letter signals that the end of the investigation is near."
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Salon that while target letters "aren't required," prosecutors can give targets the opportunity to testify before the grand jury and present evidence before they are indicted.
"Trump will not testify, of course, but he received a similar letter before he was charged in the classified documents case, so this indicates that an indictment related to the 2020 election is likely imminent, in a matter of days or weeks," Rahmani said.
Smith's team has questioned multiple witnesses about efforts related to creating fake slates of pro-Trump electors in key swing states that were actually won by Biden, sources told ABC.
Prosecutors are also examining Trump's actions as well as his state of mind in the days leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob of his supporters forcefully breached the Capitol in a violent effort to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
"Special Counsel Jack Smith has taken a cautious approach in the documents case, both in terms of the charges and the venue, and I expect him to do the same thing in the election indictment," Rahmani said. "The most likely charges are conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiring or attempting to obstruct an international official proceeding. Seditious conspiracy charges are less likely. There may be unindicted co-conspirators or people like John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani may be charged, as well."
Giuliani and Eastman have not received target letters, their lawyers said on Tuesday.
The former president posted the letter to his social media platform Truth Social attacking Smith and his investigation.
"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 wrote.
Last month, Trump was indicted on 37 counts related to stashing documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. Smith's team charged the former president with "felony violations of our national security laws" and "participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg also charged Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records earlier this year. Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases.
