WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Legal experts predict former president Donald Trump could be indicted in the Jan. 6 grand jury investigation sometime within the next few weeks.
Last week, Trump publicly announced that he had received a target letter from special counsel Jack Smith informing him that he is a target in the Jan. 6 grand jury investigation.
"The important point is when an indictment might occur," Alain Sanders, attorney and professor emeritus of political science at St. Peter's University, said. "Target letter doesn't mean you're going to be indicted, though it certainly indicates that you're the focus on prosecutorial interest. It's likely that an indictment will follow, but there's no timeline as to that."
If he is indicted, Trump's charges reportedly could include conspiracy to commit an offense or to defraud the U.S., obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with a witness, victim or an informant.
"The likely defendant, Donald Trump, gets a chance to appear before the grand jury to make any statement or any position that he wants to take before the grand jury," Sanders said. "That's unlikely to happen. Donald Trump never likes to participate in any judicial proceeding."
The deadline for Trump to appear before the grand jury was Thursday.
The grand jury reportedly met Thursday but did not convene on Friday. As for this week, it is not clear when they will meet again.
"I would say that within the next two weeks is a likely framework as to when we would expect an indictment to follow," Sanders said.
