Former President Donald Trump posted on social media on Tuesday that he has received a letter indicating he is the target of a criminal investigation by a grand jury investigating attempts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election.
Multiple sources confirmed to CBS News that the former president’s post is accurate — he did receive a target letter in the special counsel’s investigation into the events surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
The former president said on Truth Social, his social media platform, that the target letter came from special counsel Jack Smith Sunday night, and Trump was given four days to report to the grand jury.
He repeated his claim that the special counsel is engaged in a “witch hunt” and criticized the investigation as a “complete and total political weaponization of law enforcement.”
What is the special counsel investigating?
The special counsel’s office has been investigating a meeting at the Oval Office on Dec. 18, 2020, where Trump talked about bringing in attorney Sidney Powell as special counsel at the White House and seizing voting machines by an executive order.
Earlier this month, CBS News’ Robert Costa reported special counsel investigators are digging into whether Trump believed the fraudulent claims of election fraud raised at that meeting, weeks ahead of Jan. 6, even though White House lawyers told him in person that night — and after — the claims were not true.
Several members of Trump’s inner circle have testified as part of the special counsel’s probe, including former Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, top aide Stephen Miller and close ally Steve Bannon.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump asked in a phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, to “find” 11,780 votes — just enough to give Georgia’s electoral votes to the former president — has also testified in the probe.
In addition to the attempts to “find” votes in Georgia, a group of phony electors from battleground states won by President Biden met in December 2020 and signed a certificate falsely declaring that Trump had won the presidential election in their states and that they themselves were the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.
Ahead of the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump also publicly pressured Pence to “do the right thing” and refuse to accept the election results. At a rally near the White House ahead of the joint session, Trump encouraged followers to “walk down” to the Capitol to support him as Congress conducted the largely ceremonial affirmation of the Electoral College votes.
Thousands of Trump’s supporters then stormed the Capitol, and lawmakers were sent fleeing amid the violence, delaying the certification of the election results for hours. Pence finally announced Mr. Biden as the winner of the election after 1 a.m. on Jan. 7.
Other investigations into Trump
Smith was appointed last November by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate not only the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol but also Trump’s handling of national defense-related documents since leaving office. In June, Trump and longtime aide Walt Nauta were charged with multiple federal felony counts related to the documents. Trump pleaded not guilty on June 13 to the 37 charges against him.
A special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year wrapped up its investigation into alleged attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said she will announce decisions on possible charges related to that investigation this summer.
Trump has also separately been charged in New York for allegedly falsifying business records in connection to a “hush money” payout to porn star Stormy Daniels. He pleaded not guilty in April to those state charges.
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