The Justice Department has invited former President Donald Trump to testify before a federal grand jury investigating his efforts to fight what he called a rigged 2020 presidential election, but legal analysts warn that the invitation amounts to an “ambush.”
“The government has already made up its mind to indict Trump, and anything he would say to contradict their narrative might cause them to tack on charges of false statements and perjury,” said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “It would be walking into an ambush.”
Joe Moreno, a former federal prosecutor and FBI consultant, echoed that sentiment: “Grand jury testimony is a very compromising situation, and I don’t care if your client is Joe Blow or the president of the United States. I would never recommend that course of action because it is an ambush.”
Mr. Trump on Tuesday said he received a letter from the Justice Department saying he is the target of a grand jury probe into his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election, including amid the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol.
The letter asked if Mr. Trump wished to appear before the grand jury and gave him four days to do so, the former president said on social media.
Legal analysts say it would be a huge mistake for Mr. Trump to testify before the grand jury. Anything a witness says in grand jury testimony can be used as evidence to support criminal charges, and defense attorneys are not allowed to object to questions or present evidence countering the prosecutors’ narrative.
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“It’s always a bad idea to go before a grand jury,” said Mr. Moreno. “Not only are you giving the grand jury the means to keep building their case, but evidence to use against you at trial.”
He added, “If you are getting to the point where you are invited, as a target, to testify, the grand jury is pretty confident they have a case against you, so the likelihood of you changing their mind not to indict is pretty low. The idea that a defendant is going to talk them out of it is unlikely.”
A target letter means prosecutors have amassed evidence linking the recipient to a crime. It does not necessarily mean criminal charges will be brought, but legal analysts say the letters almost always precede an indictment.
Mr. Trump is the only person to publicly state that he received a target letter in the Jan. 6 probe.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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