Topline
Former President Donald Trump expects to be indicted by the Justice Department over his conduct surrounding the January 6 Capitol riots “any day now,” he wrote on Truth Social Monday, predicting the Justice Department would file charges against him to “cover up” a litany of unfounded allegations against President Joe Biden.
Old Yeller: Former U.S. President Donald Trump enters Erie Insurance Arena for a political rally … [+] while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election on July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Key Facts
Trump made the prediction after his attorneys met Thursday with the Justice Department, and two weeks after Trump said the agency sent him a letter indicating that he is a “target” in its January 6 probe.
On Truth Social, Trump defended his actions on January 6—when he rallied his supporters to the Capitol by falsely saying the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him—as “PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY Speech.”
Trump also claimed, without evidence, that the Justice Department would indict him in order to “to cover up all of the bad news about bribes, payoffs, and extortion, coming from the Biden ‘camp,’” referring to the various accusations that President Biden had financially benefited from and improperly aided his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings (though none of the allegations have been verified and Biden has repeatedly said he never had contact with his son’s business partners).
Trump also reprised his frequently used attack line against Special Counsel Jack Smith, calling him “deranged” and referring to his assistant prosecutors as a “gang of thugs,” while also claiming the DOJ’s January 6 probe amounted to “ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” and “PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!”
Key Background
The Department of Justice told Trump he could be indicted under a Civil War-era statute that prohibits U.S. citizens from intimidating others from exercising their rights, the New York Times reported, citing Smith’s target letter. The DOJ’s investigation appears to focus on the January 6 riot as well as Trump’s attempts to stay in power following his 2020 election loss more broadly. The indictment would mark Smith’s second against Trump, and Trump’s third since announcing his latest run for president. Smith’s office indicted Trump in June on a whopping 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Smith’s office added 3 new felony charges to the case last week that accuse Trump of taking steps to hide his efforts to conceal documents from prosecutors, including by allegedly instructing his employees to delete security footage from Mar-A-Lago security cameras. Trump was also indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in March on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an alleged hush-money scheme.
Tangent
In addition to Trump, Mar-A-Lago staffers Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira were also indicted in the classified documents case. Nauta was charged in June with moving boxes containing classified documents at Mar-A-Lago and lying to investigators about their whereabouts. De Oliveira appeared in court for the first time Monday to answer to charges filed last week accusing him of helping Nauta move the boxes and instructing another employee to delete security footage.
Further Reading
Trump Expects To Be Arrested Over Jan. 6 (Forbes)
Trump Says His Attorneys Met Thursday With Jack Smith’s Office As Possible Indictment Looms (Forbes)
