WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – Donald Trump stated his attorneys met on Thursday with U.S. Justice Department officers investigating the Republican former president’s makes an attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat, in an indication that prison expenses might come quickly.
But the grand jury investigating the case won’t hand down an indictment on Thursday, an official on the federal courtroom in Washington stated.
It isn’t unusual for protection attorneys to meet with federal prosecutors earlier than an indictment, however Trump stated on his Truth Social platform that the Department of Justice had not informed his attorneys when motion was probably.
“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 stated. “No indication of notice was given during the meeting.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating actions by Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, to attempt to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden within the 2020 election.
Officials have testified that in his ultimate months in workplace, Trump pressured them with false claims of widespread voter fraud. His supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in a Jan. 6, 2021, bid to cease Congress from certifying Biden’s win.
Trump stated on July 18 he had obtained a letter from Smith stating that he was a goal of the probe.
Several U.S. information shops reported Trump’s lawyers had arrived at a Justice Department constructing and have been assembly with officers in Smith’s workplace.
Trump is already the primary former U.S. president to face prison expenses, which he has sought to painting as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Any indictment within the election case would symbolize a second spherical of federal expenses from Smith, who was appointed in November by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Trump’s attorneys beforehand met with officers on the Justice Department, together with Smith, earlier than a grand jury in Miami indicted Trump in June.
Trump pleaded not responsible in Miami to a 37-count indictment charging him with unlawfully retaining categorized authorities paperwork after leaving workplace in 2021 and obstructing justice. Prosecutors accused him of risking a few of the most delicate U.S. nationwide safety secrets and techniques.
The first expenses introduced in opposition to Trump got here in March when a grand jury convened by Manhattan’s district legal professional indicted him. Trump in April pleaded not responsible to a 34 expenses accusing him of falsifying enterprise information regarding a cost to porn star Stormy Daniels to purchase her silence earlier than the 2016 election a few sexual encounter she stated she had with him.
Trump, 77, leads a crowded subject of Republican presidential candidates as he seeks a rematch with Biden, 80, subsequent yr.
Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jacqueline Thomsen, writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Doina Chiacu and Howard Goller
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
