Donald Trump says he got special counsel letter telling him he’s target in January 6 probe, signaling impending indictment

Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has received a target letter in the federal Jan. 6 probe, suggesting he will soon face indictment for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Trump said special counsel Jack Smith sent him the letter Sunday informing him that he is a target in the sprawling criminal investigation and offering him the chance to testify before the grand jury if he chooses.

“(It) almost always means an arrest and indictment,” Trump correctly said in a statement posted on his social media site.

Trump said Smith gave him four days to appear before the grand jury, but it’s considered highly unlikely he will do so as he could further incriminate himself.

“The witch hunt is all about election interference and a political weaponization of the justice system,” Trump said. “It is a very sad and dark period for our nation.

Several media organizations also confirmed that Trump has been sent a target letter, although Smith’s team did not comment.

It’s not known what charges Trump could face in the Jan. 6 case or exactly when he might be indicted. It’s also not clear why Trump decided to wait more than 24 hours to publicly announce the target letter.

The grand jury Smith is presiding over could charge Trump with obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, namely the counting of the electoral votes for President Biden, or corruptly seeking to defraud the United States. Another potential charge is insurrection, although that has rarely been charged.

The Jan. 6 case is not related to the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, for which Trump was already charged with 37 counts of mishandling documents and defying a subpoena for their return.

In that case, Trump’s lawyers were given the opportunity to meet with Smith to try to talk him out of indicting the former president, a meeting that wound up being fruitless.

By coincidence, Trump faces an initial hearing in the documents case before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon Tuesday in Fort Pierce, Florida.

The controversial Cannon may rule on Trump’s unprecedented demand that the trial be suspended until after the 2024 election. She might also rule on various procedural matters involving the handling classified documents in the case

Prosecutors have long eyed Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, when he urged a crowd of his extremist supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” to keep him in power.

The resulting bloody riot forced lawmakers and former Vice President Mike Pence to flee for their lives and to temporarily halt the certification of Biden’s win. They returned to do their constitutional duty hours later after security forces regained control of the Capitol.

Prosecutors have recently been focusing on Trump’s effort to gin up fake slates of electors from battleground states that Biden won. That scheme involved the phony electors signing official documents claiming to be duly elected.

State prosecutors in Georgia are investigating a related effort by Trump to overturn his loss in the Peach State, which started when he demanded that election officials “find” just enough votes to beat Biden.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has suggested that she plans to seek indictments in that case after Aug. 1.