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Jack Smith

The main legal troubles facing Donald Trump

X (Reuters) - Here is a list of additional legal troubles facing former President Donald Trump, who wrote on social media on Thursday that he has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice, apparently for mishandling sensitive government documents. He denies any wrongdoing.

2020 ELECTION AND THE U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK

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Newt Gingrich testified to Jack Smith's grand jury amid suspicion of involvement with fake electors

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), a close ally of former President Donald Trump, reportedly testified before special counsel Jack Smith's grand jury investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

This comes after Gingrich was also targeted for testimony in the election interference probe going on in Georgia — and he further came under fire for appearing to advocate violence in response to the FBI's search for classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club.

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Donald Trump indicted on 7 counts in classified documents probe: report

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on seven charges relating to mishandling classified government documents and obstructing justice, according to CNN. Specific charges have not been revealed as of press time, although it has been confirmed that Trump will be traveling to Miami, Florida to respond to the charges, suggesting that will be the venue of the case.

It makes him the first sitting or former president ever to face a federal indictment.

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Trump says on Truth Social that DOJ has told him he is indicted in docs case

On Thursday, former President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the Justice Department has informed his attorneys that he has been indicted in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

As of now, there is no independent confirmation from the Justice Department or the office of special counsel Jack Smith.

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South Florida jurors are unlikely to convict Trump: legal experts

Jack Smith in recent weeks has been using a Miami grand jury to hear evidence against Donald Trump in the classified documents probe, and all indications are that the special counsel is likely to try the case against the former president in South Florida.

But legal experts warn that the region is a historically is a tough place to secure convictions in federal cases against politicians and celebrities, The Messenger reports, noting that “Trump is both.”

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Jack Smith wants to move Trump case to Miami because DC presents ‘insurmountable’ challenges: report

All signs indicate Jack Smith has decided to move his case against Donald Trump to Miami, signaling that the special counsel believes Washington D.C. presents “insurmountable” challenges in adjudicating his classified documents case, The Washington Post reports.

Devlin Barrett, Spencer S. Hsu, Jacqueline Alemany, Perry Stein and Josh Dawsey write that, “The switch comes amid clear signs that the investigation is nearly completed and that Trump could face criminal charges. Former prosecutors said it reflects an effort by the Justice Department to prevent Trump’s lawyers from challenging an indictment by saying it had been filed in the wrong place — a legal line of attack that could delay or even derail a trial.”

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Trump's hope that GOP lawmakers can save him from Jack Smith is doomed: analysts

Reacting to a Donald Trump screed about his impending indictment by the Department of Justice, MSNBC political analysts scoffed at the former president's belief that GOP lawmakers can intercede on his behalf to keep him from being indicted.

After the former president's lawyers received a DOJ notice memorializing that their client is the target of an investigation into his handling of classified materials after leaving office, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to rage, "No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong.”

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'Radical MAGA Republicans' call for major DOJ and FBI cuts if Trump faces federal indictment: report

The number of Republicans challenging former President Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary grew in early June when former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum formally entered the race. But polls continue to show Trump as the clear frontrunner.

Supporters of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis see him as the GOP's best chance to move on from Trump in 2024, but a Morning Consult poll released on June 6 showed Ron DeSantis trailing Trump by 34 percent in the primary.

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'Some would suggest treason!' MAGA Republican says Joe Biden must be impeached and jailed

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) suggested President Joe Biden may be guilty of "treason" and called on him to resign during an appearance of the Fox Business Channel.

The Arizona Republican claimed the president and his family had been engaged in unlawful dealings with foreign nationals that deserved impeachment and removal, and then possibly prosecution for treason.

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Hipster couple who run 'pagan home decor' shop exposed as Putin agents

A pair of struggling artists known for their outspoken "anti-war" views have been exposed as influence agents of the Kremlin who are trying to destabilize the Eastern European country of Moldova to help Vladimir Putin expand his Ukraine assault, reported The Daily Beast on Thursday.

"The couple, 37-year-old Aleksey Losev and 33-year-old Anna Travnikova, were sanctioned by the U.S. government on Tuesday for their role in 'the government of the Russian Federation’s destabilization campaign and continued malign influence campaigns in Moldova,' along with five other Russian nationals, a press release from the U.S. Treasury’s office said," reported Noor Ibrahim.

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'Politically dangerous' for Garland to overrule Jack Smith on indicting Trump: former GOP AG

During an appearance on CNN on Thursday morning to discuss the possible Department of Justice indictment of former President Donald Trump, former attorney General Alberto Gonzales poured cold water on any hopes that current AG Merrick Garland would intercede on Trump's behalf.

Speaking with hosts Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, Gonzales, who served under former president George W. Bush, stated it would be "politically dangerous" if Garland refused to go along with special counsel Jack Smith's recommendations, whatever they might be.

Noting that Smith has likely been reporting to the assistant attorney general on his multiple investigations of Trump, Gonzales claimed the only way Garland might intercede is if Smith broke the rules in some manner or if a new witness or evidence popped up.

"There are specific rules and regulations that the special counsel has to follow throughout the entire process," host Mattingly prompted. "Is there any situation where you as a former attorney general could see the attorney general going the opposite direction of whatever his special counsel recommends or says he wants to do?"

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'Well, the only situation that I think that the attorney general would perhaps disagree with moving forward is if he is convinced that in fact the normal processes and rules and procedures of the department were not followed because they are intended to ensure everyone is treated the same," Gonzales replied.

"We want to make sure in this particular case no one could make the claim that Donald Trump has been treated any differently than any other American, or any other person, in our criminal jury system," he continued. "But that's the reason you have intermittent conversations between the special counsel and the D.A.G., the deputy attorney general, about what is the process, what have you found, what are your conclusions?"

"So it would be extremely unusual, and quite frankly, it's politically dangerous for the attorney general to disagree with the recommendation or decision of the special counsel and it would take extraordinary circumstances for that to occur in my judgment," he added.

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'Santa's going to come early this year': George Conway says it's 'clear' Trump indictment is imminent

Former President Donald Trump maintains that, despite recent reporting that special counsel Jack Smith is considering charges against him for obstruction of justice and retention of classified information, he has not been told he is facing indictment in the Mar-a-Lago documents probe.

However, reports indicate he has received notice from the Justice Department that he is a criminal target. And while that document may not explicitly say Trump is being indicted, it's an almost inevitable sign, argued conservative attorney George Conway on MSNBC's "All In" Wednesday.

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Jack Smith probe appears to be zeroing in on Trump's January 6 actions: legal expert

For weeks it’s been said by political analysts that Donald Trump might evade charges related to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt, but a prominent legal expert on Wednesday cast doubt on that assumption.

Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman said that recent developments now appear to show that it is "more likely" that the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will lead special counsel Jack Smith to pursue an indictment. Litman cited new reporting on former Trump officials Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon that suggests Smith is now zeroing in on Jan. 6.

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