Evidence is accumulating: Next Trump indictment may be imminent Evidence is accumulating: Next Trump indictment may be imminent

The rumor mill is spinning. Independently of each other, two journalists reported on Wednesday that an indictment against ex-President Donald Trump in the documents affair was imminent.

Just this week, John Solomon — a close associate of the Republican — wrote that a grand jury could vote on whether the 44th president of the United States should face trial in federal court. In contrast, leftist journalist Andrew Feinberg claimed such a vote could take place as early as Thursday.

However, Trump immediately issued a quasi-denial. He was not informed by anyone that an indictment was imminent, he wrote on his Internet service Truth Social. He also complained again about the investigation into the documents affair, which revolves around why Trump illegally included more than 300 secret government documents in January 2021 when he had to leave the White House.

Special counsel Jack Smith – who has been in charge of the Trump trial on behalf of the national Justice Department since November 2022 – does not answer media questions. It therefore remains unclear for the time being whether the ex-president is telling the truth. However, numerous media reports that have appeared in recent days indicate that Smith’s investigation into the documents affair is in its final stages.

A few days ago, the special counsel’s office informed the president, who was voted out, that criminal investigations were being conducted against him in the documents affair. Such a “target letter” may be a formality, especially in such a headline-grabbing case, but it is procedurally important.

At the beginning of the week, Trump’s lawyers met with the special investigator, which is said to have lasted nearly two hours. Lawyers usually use such conversations with the prosecution to protect their client and avert a last-minute “charge,” as the charge is called in American legal jargon.

Special Prosecutor has assembled two grand juries

Confusingly, however, Smith appears to have two grand juries working for him, one in Washington and one in Miami, Florida. A possible explanation for this: The special investigator decided to split the numerous allegations against Trump – in addition to the documents affair, there are also allegations related to the lost 2020 election and the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – into several proceedings.

Another statement: Smith does not want to face accusations that he wants to try the Republican in the left-wing city of Washington, where Trump received just 4.5 percent of the vote in 2020. A trial in Miami, about 70 minutes from Trump’s home, would be less politically charged.

In the eyes of lawyers, the document affair is a fairly simple matter. Trump has seized government documents, even though a president must hand over all papers to the national records authority. When they found gaps in the files in 2021, the authority turned to the Ministry of Justice. He first sought talks with Trump. But when suspicions arose that the ex-president did not want to voluntarily release certain documents, the unprecedented search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach (Florida) followed in August 2022.

The proceedings against Biden continue

Trump still claims he had the right to hold government documents. He also claims that the files were no longer classified as he had the right to release such documents. He does not want to accept the accusation that he has obstructed the investigations of the Ministry of Justice. In summary, he describes the allegations as a witch hunt and an attempt by the “Deep States” to silence the most popular Republican presidential candidate.

Smith is also investigating President Joe Biden because the Democrat also appropriated classified government documents. (The allegations relate to his tenure as vice president from 2009 to 2017 and his long tenure as a senator.) There have been no updates on these investigations.

The Justice Department also recently announced that former Vice President Mike Pence will not be tried for similar charges. About a dozen secret government officials were found in the home of the Republican presidential candidate in January.