By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 2 hours ago, updated 19 minutes ago
Donald Trump on July 15 in Florida. MARCO BELLO / Portal
The former US president says he was given “four very short days” to report to the grand jury, a panel of citizens drawn by lot who have wide-ranging investigative powers.
Former US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had received a letter from prosecutors informing him that he was a personal target in the federal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol in Washington. A new legal thorn in the side candidate for 2024.
“Jack Smith, Joe Biden’s lunatic DOJ, has sent a letter (…) stating that I am the TARGET of the January 6 grand jury investigation,” the former US President wrote in his Network Truth Social.
The boisterous politician and billionaire, the Democratic president’s main opponent, is already being indicted by the courts in the case of the confidential White House documents and for making suspicious payments to a former X-movie actress.
The big favorite in the 2024 Republican primary said Tuesday he was given “four very short days” to report to the grand jury, a group of citizens drawn by lot and vested with sweeping investigative powers. Donald Trump assures that this procedure “almost always” leads to an indictment. In his text, the 77-year-old former president describes these investigations as a “witch hunt”, a new “electoral interference” and a “political operation” by the judiciary. “Nothing like this has ever happened in our country,” he said.
“He failed in his duty”
On January 6, 2021, thousands of Donald Trump supporters had sowed chaos and violence at the Washington Capitol, the temple of American democracy, as elected officials confirmed the victory of his rival Joe Biden in the presidential election.
Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday that he “has the right to vote in an election that I believe has been rigged and stolen,” affirming that because of the upcoming presidential election in which he is running, is targeted. A parliamentary committee, dissolved earlier this year by the new Republican majority, was investigating the Republican’s role on the day. In high-profile hearings, that body democratically claimed that the former president whitewashed his supporters before the coup and “failed to fulfill his duty as commander-in-chief” during the attack.
In its final report, published in December 2022, the commission ruled that Donald Trump should never be able to hold new public office after inciting his supporters to insurgency. Its members also recommended that criminal proceedings be instituted against him in the federal courts, specifically for inciting insurrection. Donald Trump did not provide any information on Tuesday about the possible allegations against him in this investigation.
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Donald Trump is already indicted in the federal investigation into classified documents, also chaired by Jack Smith. He is accused of refusing to return documents he would have kept when he left the White House, despite legal orders. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in mid-June and faces a historic and potentially very damaging trial for his 2024 US presidential campaign. A hearing will be held in that case on Tuesday.
Also read Accusation against Donald Trump: What are the scenarios for the 2024 presidential campaign?
The Republican billionaire was also indicted by the New York State Justice Department on multiple counts of accounting fraud related to a pre-election payment in 2016 aimed at silencing an “X Movies” actress. A Georgia prosecutor also has until September to announce the outcome of his investigation into pressure he applied to try to change the outcome of that southern state’s 2020 presidential election.
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