Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith declaring him a target of a grand jury investigation into events leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social webpage that his attorneys notified him Sunday of the letter. He said it gave him four days to “report to the grand jury,” which he interpreted as a prelude to an indictment and arrest.
The ex-president fumed against Mr. Smith and said the specter of a criminal indictment amounts to election interference, pointing to his wide lead in early 2024 polling.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before, or even close,” Mr. Trump wrote.
The ramifications of the document reported by Mr. Trump were not immediately clear, though target letters typically suggest prosecutors have gathered evidence linking a person to a crime and include instructions on next steps.
Mr. Smith is investigating the actions that Mr. Trump and his allies took in the wake of the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump said the contest was rigged against him and that Congress should send back electoral vote-counting to certain states. The claims reached a tipping point on Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol as lawmakers tried to certify President Biden’s victory.
Mr. Smith secured a separate indictment over Mr. Trump’s storage of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The former president could face trial by December, though Mr. Trump wants an indefinite delay.
Mr. Trump also faces a state indictment in New York on more than 30 counts of falsifying business documents related to hush payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.