Federal prosecutors have told the legal team of former President Donald Trump his a “target of their investigation” into his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
According to a report from The New York Times, the notification from Special Counsel Jack Smith was the “clearest signal yet that the former president is likely to face charges in the investigation.”
The report said:
“It remained unclear when Mr. Trump’s team was told that he was a target of the special counsel’s inquiry, but the notice suggested that prosecutors working for Mr. Smith had largely completed their investigation and were moving toward bringing an indictment.
Notifying a potential defendant that he or she is a target is a formal way of indicating that the person is a direct focus of a criminal investigation and often precedes the filing of charges. The notification typically opens the door to defense lawyers requesting a meeting with prosecutors to offer their side of the story.”
A Trump indictment would likely galvanize more support for Trump and help his re-election to the White House in 2024.
The news comes as Joe Biden himself is under investigation for the handling of classified documents when he left office as vice president.
Trump reacted to the news on Wednesday, posting on Truth Social:
“Wow, this is turning out to be the greatest & most vicious instance of ELECTION INTERFERENCE in the history of our Country. Remember, I’m leading DeSanctimonious BIG in the Polls, but, more importantly, I’m leading Biden by a lot. Also, & perhaps most importantly, they are launching all of the many Fake Investigations against me RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF MY CAMPAIGN, something which is unheard of & not supposed to happen. DOJ, FBI, NEW YORK A.G., NEW YORK D.A., ATLANTA D.A. FASCISTS ALL!”
Meanwhile, House Republicans are turning up the heat on Joe Biden amid suspicion the DOJ is unfairly targeting Trump versus Biden.
Earlier this week, judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) asked the DOJ to provide information on the scope of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into the probe of Biden’s classified document probe.
Jordan also requested the full scope of Smith’s investigation into Trump.
As Brietbart reported:
Prosecutors are reportedly looking into whether Trump violated laws on handling classified documents but also obstructed government efforts to retrieve them from his home in Mar-a-Lago.
Taylor Budowich, a former Trump spokesman who testified recently in front of a grand jury in Miami as part of the documents probe, called the investigation “bogus and deeply troubling.”
He tweeted Wednesday:
“Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to “get” Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front of a federal grand jury, and I answered every question honestly.”
“America has become a sick and broken nation—a decline led by Joe Biden and power-hungry Democrats. I will not be intimidated by this weaponization of government. For me, the need to unite our nation and make America great again has never been more clear than it is today. That starts with re-electing President Donald J. Trump, a purpose I will not be deterred from pursuing.”
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