Trump says he is the “target” of investigations into the storming of the Capitol

Former US President Donald Trump says he is the “target” of investigations into the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – and could therefore also be charged in this case. Trump said Tuesday he received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith on Sunday night. Smith gave him four days to appear before a so-called grand jury, “which almost always means an arrest and indictment,” wrote the Republican presidential candidate. In the United States, a grand jury is a secret lay body that plays a central role in investigations. Prosecutors often give suspects an opportunity to testify before a grand jury before a possible indictment.

The 77-year-old wants to run again for the Republicans in next year’s presidential election. The favored candidate for the presidency declared that a “third indictment” had now been de facto decided against him as President Joe Biden’s “number one political opponent”.

The Justice Department had used the special counsel in November to outsource the politically sensitive investigations into the ex-president. Smith had already obtained charges against Trump in the secret documents affair in June. The special counsel employed by the Justice Department is conducting two investigations in parallel: one on secret documents that Trump took from the White House to his private estate Mar-a-Lago in the state of Florida at the end of his term in early 2021, and one on Trump’s possible criminal responsibility for them Violence of January 6, 2021.

Smith has been checking for months whether there is enough evidence to take legal action. Trump had clearly lost the 2020 election against Democrat Joe Biden – but to this day does not accept the defeat and spreads the lie about election fraud.

Committee of Inquiry recommended criminal prosecution against Donald Trump

Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol when Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election was to be certified there. Trump had previously called on his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight no matter what”, five people died. Trump had previously publicly called on his deputy Mike Pence to block the procedure for certifying Biden’s election victory. However, Pence adhered to the Constitution.

Last December, the House investigative committee into the storming of the Capitol recommended that the judiciary initiate criminal proceedings against Trump for, among other things, inciting or aiding and abetting a riot. Trump has always described judicial investigations against him as politically motivated.

Note: This article has been updated.