As Donald Trump’s lawyers were bracing for the former president to be indicted over attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, a court official announced there will be no new indictments on Thursday from a federal grand jury in Washington hearing evidence on the case.
(Bloomberg) — As Donald Trump’s lawyers were bracing for the former president to be indicted over attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, a court official announced there will be no new indictments on Thursday from a federal grand jury in Washington hearing evidence on the case.
Trump’s lawyers were expecting the former president to be indicted as soon as Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. A courtroom deputy for the federal magistrate judge who would accept new indictments from prosecutors told reporters shortly before 3 p.m. that there would be no such activity on Thursday.
The grand jury in the 2020 election probe has typically met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and given Trump’s recent receipt of a letter from the Justice Department saying he was a target, speculation intensified ahead of Thursday. The courtroom deputy who spoke with reporters didn’t specifically reference the 2020 election probe, only saying broadly there would be no indictment returns for the day.
However, there is a possibility that prosecutors could present an indictment under seal, that could be unsealed at any time. Usually, indictments are returned in open court, with the magistrate judge reading the defendant’s initials out loud.
Lawyers and aides close to Trump have been preparing for the Justice Department to present an indictment to a federal grand jury in Washington this week as part of a sprawling probe by Special Counsel Jack Smith, according to two people who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t yet public.
Prosecutors met with Trump attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche on Thursday morning at Smith’s office to discuss the 2020 election investigation, one of the people said. The Justice Department will typically agree to such a meeting if defense lawyers ask to make a final pitch against an indictment. A third person familiar with the situation said the meeting lasted approximately an hour.
Trump on Thursday confirmed in a social-media post that his lawyers met with the Justice Department to argue that he had not committed any crimes. But he denied his attorneys received any notice of the pending indictment.
“My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ 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 said in the post. “No indication of notice was given during the meeting — Do not trust the Fake News on anything.”
The Jan. 6 target letter lists three federal criminal laws that Trump could be charged with violating, according to a person familiar with the contents. The statutes listed include one that makes it a crime to obstruct an official proceeding — a charge that has been featured in numerous prosecutions against individuals who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — one for conspiring to commit an offense or defraud the US, and one for depriving a person of their rights under the US Constitution and other laws.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and Smith’s office declined to comment.
Federal charges over attempting to overturn the 2020 election would mark the most serious legal challenge for Trump yet, following a June indictment over his handling of classified documents after leaving office and earlier New York state charges in New York over a hush-money payment to a porn star years ago. Trump is also facing the prospect of charges from Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis over the 2020 election.
On Wednesday, Trump said on social media that he would revive his false claim that the election was rigged if he were to be charged over the 2020 vote. Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House in the 2024 election, denies wrongdoing and claims all the cases are part of a political “witch hunt.”
(updates with more context on proceedure of indictment on graph 4)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.