by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch | The Hill
There is no U.S. precedent that comes close to a former president who wants voters to return him to the White House while facing charges that he placed U.S. national security at risk and allegedly schemed to try to cling to power.
Former President Trump has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges. Through his lawyers he says he prefers to go to trial after voters cast their ballots next year and boasts during his campaign appearances that he’s on the path to becoming the Republican nominee to challenge President Biden in 2024.
On Tuesday, Trump announced a new hurdle: He received a target letter from federal prosecutors who have been investigating Republican efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election results (The Hill).
I got the letter on Sunday night. Think of it. I don’t think they’ve ever sent a letter on Sunday night,” Trump said Tuesday during a town hall in Iowa with Fox News host and ally Sean Hannity. “And they’re in a rush because they want to interfere. It’s interference with the election. It’s election interference. Never been done like this in the history of our country, and it’s a disgrace” (The Hill and USA Today).
Trump’s disclosure suggests he will soon face felony charges tied to the election he lost. According to some legal experts, and based on news reporting since Jan. 6, 2021, he could be charged with alleged conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding (the 2021 certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory) (The New York Times).
As The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes, anticipation that Trump will face a new federal indictment means the public spotlight temporarily shifts toward the former president and his campaign, and away from his primary rivals. Trump is leading the GOP primary field, according to recent polls, and his supporters applaud his false assertions that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him.
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel last week told CNN it’s hypothetical to imagine her party nominating “a convicted felon.”
“It’s up to the voters,” she said during an interview. “They’re going to make their decision. They’re going to hear this and they’re going to decide if this is an issue for them come November or come the primary process.”
Lawfare blog: “A third indictment appears to be forthcoming,” Brookings Institution senior fellow Benjamin Wittes wrote on Tuesday, referring to a target letter Trump said he received with a deadline if he wishes to appear before a grand jury in Washington, D.C. “It’s reasonable to expect the grand jury to act as early as the end of this week.”
The Hill: GOP senators hold back on defending Trump as he faces new indictment.
Trump in April was criminally charged in Manhattan with 34 felonies related to filing false business documents, and separately charged by federal prosecutors in June with 37 counts including conspiracy and violations of the Espionage Act tied to his possession of classified documents removed from the White House to his Florida estate.
The former president pleaded not guilty to all charges after his indictments in Manhattan and South Florida and continues to claim he’s the victim of a Democratic “witch hunt” staged across multiple judicial jurisdictions.
In the documents case, a federal judge on Tuesday held a pretrial hearing in South Florida with Trump’s lawyers, who want his trial to begin after Election Day next year. Prosecutors have asked to start the trial at the end of this year. Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, said she will issue a written order “promptly” (The New York Times).
Pending in Georgia is a separate investigation of Republican actions to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. This week, Trump failed to block the Georgia probe in court (The Associated Press).
CNN: Trump strategized Tuesday with House allies including the Speaker and chair of the GOP conference to go on offense to defend him and assail the Justice Department investigation.
