Federal prosecutors have notified former US President Donald Trump’s lawyers that he is the target of an investigation into his handling of classified material, adding to his legal woes as he campaigns for the 2024 White House.
The Justice Department routinely notifies individuals when they become the target of an investigation to give them an opportunity to present their own evidence to a grand jury. The notification does not mean Trump will be indicted, however.
First former US president to face criminal charges
News of the notice to Trump’s legal team came just two days after his lawyers met with Justice Department officials to discuss the case.
Trump’s legal team was notified on Monday, a source said. While there are some signs that the investigation into the documents is nearing completion, when a person is notified that they are a target cannot necessarily be used as a predictor of when charges might be brought, said David Schoen, an attorney who represented Trump ally Steve Bannon during his criminal trial on charges of contempt of Congress.
“Sometimes they are issued at the beginning of a long investigation and sometimes at the end of an investigation,” he said, according to Reuters.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has repeatedly described the multiple investigations as politically motivated.
A federal grand jury is investigating Trump’s retention of classified materials after he left the White House in 2021.
A second criminal investigation is looking into alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Donald Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Aside from the issue of classified material, in May a jury in federal court in Manhattan ruled in a civil suit that Trump must pay $5 million in damages for sexually abusing the former Elle magazine columnist , E. Jean Carroll, and then defamed her, calling her a liar.
Trump also faces a criminal investigation by a Georgia prosecutor into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state.
