Yahoo Sports Trump Notified He Is Target of Criminal Probe
Federal prosecutors have informed Donald Trump that he is the target of an ongoing criminal probe, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Rolling Stone. On Wednesday, the Guardian reported that a letter to Trump from prosecutors arrived before Trump’s attorneys met with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the former president’s hoarding of classified documents post-presidency. The meeting was reportedly a last-ditch effort to avoid an indictment against Trump and a “target letter” of this nature hints that Smith’s office may be rapidly approaching a final decision.
In August, FBI agents conducted a search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and seized hundreds of classified documents that the former president retained following his departure from the White House. The raid was the culmination of a months-long effort by the National Archives and federal authorities to recover the missing materials.
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Trump and his legal teams’ evasiveness regarding the documents, and their efforts to prevent investigators from actually seeing what was in the documents he was hoarding in his home, resulted in the appointment of Smith to oversee the investigation.
Reports indicate that Smith is likely considering charges of obstruction of justice against the former president, and has leveled dozens of subpoenas against Mar-a-Lago employees and members of Trump’s inner circle.
Separately, Smith is also overseeing a DOJ probe into Trump’s actions in the aftermath of the election, and his role in the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Smith’s investigation spans everything from Trump’s efforts to overturn election results in individual states, to efforts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence into sabotaging Congress’ certification of electoral college votes.
On Wednesday, NBC News reported that the DOJ had subpoenaed former Trump advisor Steve Bannon for testimony and documents related to the investigation. Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months of prison last year.
As the walls close in around Trump, he remains as irate as ever. “No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday, “but I have assumed for years that I am a Target of the WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI.”
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