Washington: Former US President Donald Trump said that he expects to be arrested by a federal inquiry into the January 2021 Capitol riot and efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.
He made the remarks Tuesday in a post on his Truth Social app, claiming that he had been sent a letter “stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment”, reports the BBC.
The former President added that he had been informed of the development by special counsel Jack Smith Sunday night.
Smith’s team has investigated Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the White House and with managing a sprawling federal investigation into the riot and attempts by the former President and his advisers to “interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election”.
Such an indictment would be Trump’s third for alleged criminal offences, including 37 counts brought by Smith’s team in June accusing the former leader of mishandling classified documents.
Trump has also been charged in New York City with falsifying business records in 2016 hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
He is due to stand trial in that case in March 2024, while a date for the classified documents case is still being contested by the president’s lawyers.
Speaking in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Tuesday night, Trump expressed his frustration at the latest development.
“I didn’t know practically what a subpoena was and grand juries and all of this. Now I’m becoming an expert, I have no choice because we have to… It’s a disgrace,” the BBC quoted the former President as saying.
Meanwhile, state prosecutors in Atlanta, Georgia, are also investigating the former President, focusing on whether he illegally pressured state officials there to discard President Joe Biden’s victory.
In a December 2020 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Trump had asked that Georgia officials “find 11,780 votes” that would flip the state to him.
A decision by Georgia prosecutors on whether to indict Trump is expected next month.
