Lawyers for President Donald Trump met Thursday with members of special counsel Jack Smith’s team ahead of an expected indictment over the former president’s efforts in Georgia following the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter — the latest in a series of serious legal problems hounding the Republican Party leader.
It will be the third time Trump has been indicted.
The meeting included Trump lawyer John Lauro, and Trump himself confirmed the meeting in a post on his Truth Social network.
The 45th president wrote, “My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country.”
He added that “no indication of notice was given during the meeting.”
Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, was informed earlier this month by Smith’s office that he was a target of the Justice Department’s investigation, and an indictment is expected in just days.
The investigation has focused on the turbulent two-month period after the November 2020 election in which Trump refused to accept Democrat Joe Biden’s win. The turmoil culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when Trump loyalists entered the building.
Some in the mob attacked police officers, and the incident disrupted the congressional counting of electoral votes. More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot.
In between the election and the riot, Trump urged local election officials to undo voting results in their states, pressured Vice President Mike Pence to halt the certification of electoral votes, and push controversial claims on social media that the election had been stolen.
A spokesman for Smith declined to comment on Thursday’s meeting. Lauro, Trump’s lawyer, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Trump was charged by Smith’s team last month over classified documents held at his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, Mar-a-Lago. Prosecutors claim Trump was concealing them documents from investigators.
He was also indicted in New York in March on charges of falsifying business records in connection with an alleged hush money payment to a porn actor.
And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are preparing to announce charging decisions in the coming weeks related to efforts to subvert the election in that state — which could be the most serious of all the indictments.
Reports say the Democratic District Attorney in Fulton County is preparing racketeering charges. Trump’s fourth formal arrest in Georgia is expected in early August, according to reports.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article