Trump says he’s target of Jan. 6 investigation: Here’s what to expect next

WASHINGTON D.C. — Former President Donald Trump says he was sent a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith informing him that he’s a target in the Jan. 6 grand jury investigation.

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Officials have been looking into the events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol Attack and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

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“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night) 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,” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social.

If he is indicted in this case, it would make it the third criminal indictment Trump has faced this year.

In response to the latest investigation, Trump called it a “total political weaponization of law enforcement,” and denied any wrongdoing.

Related Story: Trump is notified he’s a target of the US criminal probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election

We spoke with Georgetown University Law Professor David Super about potential charges and what to expect ahead.

“You don’t send a notice like this to a former president of the United States unless you’re pretty sure there’s going to be an indictment,” said Super. “It could be something as mundane as fraud. It could be interfering with a government function, and it could be conspiracy.”

Super said a potential conspiracy charge or charges would be very serious because it would mean the former president could be held accountable for the actions of others on Jan. 6 even if he didn’t directly do it himself.

“If you are working with people who do bad things as part of the scheme, you’re on the hook for what they did even if you weren’t part of it,” said Super. “So, it’s possible if they found that he was engaged in a conspiracy with the people who attacked the Capitol on January 6th that he could be accountable for beating up police officers and breaking into Congressional offices.”

Super said he expects this case to move pretty quickly.

“If I’m his campaign manager, this is the one I probably worry about the most because it has the potential to move faster,” said Super. “I can see this thing going to trial next spring, summer.”

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Members of Congress remained divided along party lines in their reaction to the news on Tuesday.

“Well, I guess under a Biden administration, Biden America, you’d expect this,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). “If you noticed recently, President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for reelection. So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go after their number one opponent.”

“There’s little doubt that former President Trump was very specifically and gradually involved in trying to overturn the results of the legitimate presidential election that he lost,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL).

This comes as there are several pending cases against the former president underway.

In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to charges in New York connected to an alleged hush money payment made to an adult film actress.

In June, Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges connected to the alleged mishandling of classified documents.

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There is also still a pending potential case in Georgia connected to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.