Former President Trump Named a Target in January 6th Investigation


Former President Donald Trump posted last week that he received a letter from Special Prosecutor Jack Smith informing him that he was a target of the grand jury investigation currently underway in Washington, DC. A letter from prosecutors declaring that an individual is a target is usually an indication that charges are forthcoming. It’s not publicly known if the grand jury still will be hearing more testimony, or if they have already voted on the case sometime after the letter was written.   

Donald Trump’s revelation of this letter on Truth Social did not indicate what charges might be involved. His criticism of the investigation included descriptions of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith as “deranged”, and he claimed Attorney General Merrick Garland acted in an “unethical” manner. During an interview Tuesday night with Sean Hannity, the former president remarked, “like with the Department of Justice, they’ve totally weaponized that, it’s weaponized like we’ve never had this before.”

These comments reflect the basis of his defense which has insisted on his innocence and described his view of persecution and constant legal attacks as ‘lawfare’. This portrayal maintains that the investigation is political in nature since he is an opposing candidate to the current president. The former president has repeated the idea that the campaign is already underway and the DOJ has a standing policy, which originated in the period following the Nixon administration, to not indict a sitting president or interfere with elections. If true, neither Biden nor Trump would be subject to investigation since Trump is a candidate for office, and intentionally having the trial before the election would constitute  interference simply from the timing of events. 

 Currently, there are 16 months before the 2024 presidential race will be decided. The question of whether the charges will be made and the trial concluded before the primary season next year are doubtful considering the complexity of the case and the numerous motions and delays that are highly likely. That would mean Trump may be on trial even further into the 2024 calendar. The daily headlines in March and April may have readers choose between ‘trail’ or ‘trial’. We might see the dilemma on prime time screens if a court held a trial while Donald Trump was on the campaign trail. 

Most polls have shown that support for the former president has not waned and some polls have shown an uptick in favorable ratings despite the Manhattan District Attorney indictment, his liability case brought by Jean Carroll, and the indictment in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.  Supporters generally accept the claim that the case is entirely political and they subsequently support his opposition to cooperating with authorities. This would imply that a trial during the election season would have little or no effect among his supporters. The practical result might be that losses of support among independent voters would be offset by solidification and motivation of his base.