The investigation into attempts to rig the 2020 election is expected to end in an indictment, according to reports from prosecutors who allegedly briefed former President Donald Trump‘s counsel.
Todd Blanche and John Lauro, two of Trump’s attorneys, met with prosecutors in Jack Smith’s office, according to three people who spoke with NBC News on Thursday morning. According to two of them, prosecutors warned Trump’s legal counsel to anticipate an indictment.
A grand jury heard testimony as part of its investigation into Trump and his associates’ attempts to rig the 2020 presidential election on Thursday at the federal courtroom in Washington, DC.
According to CNN, a prosecutor working for Smith and jurors were seen entering the courthouse on Thursday morning. The last time the grand jury was spotted at the courthouse was last week; they generally meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The news comes nine days after Trump declared he had gotten a letter from Smith claiming that the grand jury is looking into the January 6 Capitol riot and attempts to rig the election, and that Smith is the subject of their investigation. Trump stated that he anticipated being detained and charged.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Smith’s letter included three federal laws, including witness tampering, denial of rights, and conspiracy to defraud the US.
On January 6, 2021, Trump urged his followers to challenge the election results. In an effort to prevent Congress from recognising the election results for Joe Biden, an irate mob rushed the Capitol building.
It would be Trump’s second federal indictment. In June, Smith filed a criminal complaint against Trump for allegedly handling secret materials improperly while transporting them from the White House to Mar-a-Lago.
In the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into his alleged involvement in a hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, Trump was also criminally charged in April. Trump has maintained that the 2020 election investigation is a witch hunt and entered not guilty pleas in both instances.
On Thursday afternoon, Trump posted to his Truth Social platform that his ‘attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ (Department of Justice) this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country’.
Trump also denied the assertion made by NBC News that prosecutors had informed his attorneys to anticipate an indictment.
Trump writes, “No indication of notice was given during the meeting.” “Do not believe anything you read online!”