UPDATE: Thursday, Jul 27, 2023 · 5:27:18 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
Trump has written a post on his social media platform insisting that his attorneys had a “productive meeting” with the special counsel team and that were given “no indication of notice.”
Obviously this gets the same credibility as anything from Trump. It is likely setting up a later claim that his attorneys were lied to. Again … stay tuned.
Considering that it has already come not once, but twice in the last few months, it might seem that the excitement of indictment day would be wearing off. But as attorneys gather around the Elijah Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C., there is definitely a rise in expectations.
The grand jury convened by special counsel Jack Smith has been looking at all aspects of Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and enshrine himself as an unelected dictator. Trump repeatedly lied about claims of election fraud. He made phone calls to governors, state officials, and even members of local election boards in an effort to pressure them into falsifying the results of the election. He worked with his staff and Republican leaders around the country to create slates of false electors with the intention of derailing the final count. And he leaned on Mike Pence to prevent the lawful completion of the election process.
There’s no doubt that Trump committed crimes in his efforts to reverse the 2020 election. The only question is what charges, and how many counts of these charges, Trump will face when the grand jury issues its findings. And it’s starting to look as if today might be that day.
Members of Smith’s team arrived early this morning at the Prettyman Courthouse. Meanwhile, members of Trump’s legal team were said to be preparing to receive the news. There is also word that Trump’s attorneys are scheduled to meet with attorneys from Smith’s office this morning. That meeting likely includes handing over a list of the indictments Smith will seek from the grand jury.
It’s unclear whether Smith would give Trump any significant advance warning of a pending indictment. Trump went public on July 18 to say that he had received a target letter from Smith warning the Washington jury was looking his way. In the classified documents case, Smith’s office apparently did give Trump notification that the West Palm Beach jury was about to act. However, Trump immediately sprayed that information to social media and the press. That action may mean a different timetable in this instance.
In the previous case, a meeting between Trump’s attorneys and representatives of the special counsel's office came three days before the indictment. This could mean that the actual indictment is still not coming until next Monday or Tuesday. That’s if Smith hasn’t decided to tighten the timeline.
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If the goal is to see that things are handled in as orderly a manner as is practicable, Smith might not inform Trump until the indictment is in hand and the grand jury has a chance to depart. So it’s possible that, even if this is another indictment day, that information might not become public for some hours after the indictments are made.
Other than the target letter and the general high level of activity around the courthouse in the last week, there is another reason to believe that Smith might act today or tomorrow to get these indictments completed. That’s because Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has already signaled that an indictment of Trump and others in connection to election interference could come as soon as next week. Smith might move now just to stay out of Willis’ way.
However, there are also some reasons to suspect that this is not the day indictments might come down. The special counsel’s office may still give Trump’s legal team some days to challenge the indictments. Recent activities in the defamation case filed against Rudy Giuliani by two election workers in Georgia have resulted in a large number of new documents becoming available to Smith's team. There were reports last Friday that more false electors had testified to the grand jury after reaching a deal with Smith’s office. And the Department of Justice team involved with arresting those connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection have been on a tear in the last three weeks, arresting an estimated 40 new suspects. Any of these might indicate there is more information Smith’s team wants to get through and present to the grand jury before indictments start rolling out.
So there are reasons to believe that indictments could come today. And reasons to believe that they might not come for several days. Or even weeks.
However, it’s almost certain that following the meeting between his attorneys and attorneys from the special counsel’s office, Trump will know what indictments are headed his way. So expect the charges to be in a fundraising letter by the end of the day.
Stay tuned …