Former President Donald Trump fumed on Truth Social over reports that special counsel Jack Smith may be nearing an indictment in the Justice Department investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents.
The federal grand jury hearing evidence in the Mar-a-Lago probe is set to reconvene this week after a hiatus, according to NBC News, fueling speculation that the panel may soon vote on an indictment. The news comes after reports that Smith's investigators obtained a recording of Trump admitting he had a classified document about Iran that he was not allowed to show to others.
"Reports are the Marxist Special Prosecutor, DOJ, & FBI, want to Indict me on the BOXES HOAX, despite all of the wrongdoing that they have done for SEVEN YEARS, including SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN," Trump wrote on Truth Social, repeating a debunked claim that the FBI spied on his campaign.
"Biden Crimes go unpunished, including that he had Boxes in Chinatown, in his garage by the 'Corvette,' & 1,850 Boxes in Delaware that he won't allow anyone to see. That is real OBSTRUCTION!" Trump wrote, even though Biden's handling of documents is also under investigation by the DOJ. Biden's case is vastly different than Trump's since his attorneys turned the documents over as soon as they found them. The DOJ dropped a similar inquiry into former Vice President Mike Pence last week. Trump, meanwhile, defied a grand jury subpoena to return the documents after rejecting multiple requests.
"They seek retribution for Republicans looking into Biden's CRIMES!" Trump added. "I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
"Looks like someone has received some very bad news from his legal team," MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang tweeted in response to Trump's post.
But CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen cautioned that while Smith is likely to indict Trump, the former president is not a reliable source of information.
"Just be careful, remember his head fake on the timing of the Bragg charges," he wrote. "Trump fooled everyone by setting up a false deadline & then creating a fuss when it was not met. Yes I think Smith will charge & soon — on his schedule not Trump's."
Just be careful, remember his head fake on the timing of the Bragg charges
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 5, 2023
Trump fooled everyone by setting up a false deadline & then creating a fuss when it was not met
Yes I think Smith will charge & soon — on his schedule not Trump’s. We explain: https://t.co/uzEPo1iLFA https://t.co/9w9Kya9cqz
Eisen and other legal scholars last week published a model prosecution memo finding that Trump "should — and likely will — be charged" in the documents probe.
"There is sufficient evidence to obtain and sustain a conviction here, if the information gleaned from government filings and statements and voluminous public reporting is accurate," the scholars wrote. "Indeed, the DOJ is likely now, or shortly will be, internally circulating a pros memo of its own saying so."
