Trump’s team is scrambling to find out if the special counsel has evidence, witnesses they don’t know about

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CNN —

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers and advisers are trying to determine whether there is evidence and witnesses they don’t know about that bolster special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to multiple sources. who is familiar with the Trump team’s legal talks.

The potential charges listed in the targeted letter suggest the special counsel will pursue a larger case against Trump than the former president’s team expected, given the evidence they know. That led to questions about whether there was evidence or testimony they didn’t know about, the sources said.

Trump’s team of lawyers and advisers tried to stay close to the investigation. The former presidents’ political action committee underwrote legal costs for several witnesses, giving them some insight into what was shared with the Smiths’ team.

Trump said on social media Tuesday that he received a targeted letter from Smith on Sunday, a sign that charges in the case may be on the way. His legal team believes they have until midnight Thursday to respond to special counsel Jack Smith and tell his office if there are any witnesses or evidence they want to offer, sources told CNN.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment.

How the Trumps’ legal team views the ongoing investigation has changed over time. At some point, Trumps team is hoping for a best-case scenario in which Trump is an unwitting co-conspirator, the two people said. But as witnesses like Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and former White House aide Hope Hicks were called before the grand jury, it became clearer to members of the legal team and Trumps inner circle that Smith is focused on Trumps mindset.

The target letter mentions three laws that Trump could be sued for: disenfranchisement; conspiracy to commit an offense against or defraud the United States; and tampering with a witness, according to multiple news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department is known for its investigation into possible violations of the law surrounding the January 6 collusion and obstruction of congressional proceeding, which is part of the witness tampering law, CNN previously reported following the Justice Department’s search of a Trump administration home. of counselors.

If Smith indicts Trump in the Jan. 6 case, it would mark the third time Trump has been criminally indicted this year, and the second time by the special counsel. The Manhattan district attorney indicted Trump in March on allegations of falsifying business records, and Smith sued Trump last month for mishandling classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Trump has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Trump denounced the special counsel on Tuesday as he revealed the targeted letter. At a Fox News town hall in Iowa Tuesday night, Trump said the election investigation amounted to election interference and called it a disgrace.

Trump spoke for the first time since it was revealed that he was a target of the special counsel’s investigation

Trumps legal team has not formally responded to the invitation to testify before the grand jury, which the letter provides, but Trump is widely expected to decline to do so. The letter was caught by Trumps team off guard, according to sources, because Trumps advisers did not anticipate that Smith might file charges this month or against Trump himself.

So far, Trumps team has not identified anyone who received a targeted letter, according to the sources.

The special counsel conducted an extensive investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including efforts to pressure state election officials, casting fake voters in seven states that Trump lost, pressure. campaigns at the Justice Department and his then-Vice President Mike Pence, and post-election fundraising.

The grand jury continues to hear from witnesses, and a close Trump adviser, Will Russell, is expected to appear Thursday. Russell, a White House aide who continued to work for Trump after he left office, has testified before the grand jury at least twice before. Russell’s attorney declined to comment.

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