There is further speculation that Donald Trump could soon be indicted in other criminal investigations, with the former president having already been charged in Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents probe.
On June 13, Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal offenses, including 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents under the Espionage Act, in a court in Miami, Florida.
The indictment arrived after Trump became the first U.S. president in history to be charged with a crime. He was accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's hush-money investigation.
On Sunday, former attorney general Bill Barr said that Smith, who is also leading the federal investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack and Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 Election, may also soon bring indictments in that inquiry.
"I've always said, I think the January 6th case will be a hard case to make because of First Amendment interest," Barr told Robert Costa on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday.
"But I'm actually starting to think they will pull the trigger on that, and I would expect it to be this summer," he added.
Barr resigned as attorney general in December 2020 after Trump continued to falsely say the election he lost to Joe Biden was "stolen" due to widespread voter fraud. This was despite Barr publicly saying that the justice department had found no evidence to back up the claims. Barr told Face the Nation he would "of course" testify in Smith's investigation and called upon to do so, but added that he does not believe he will be.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing as part of the classified documents and Georgia investigation, and continues to falsely state the 2020 Election was rigged against him.
"THEY DON'T GO AFTER THE PEOPLE WHO CHEATED IN THE ELECTION, THEY ONLY GO AFTER THE PEOPLE WHO REPORT ON, OR QUESTION, THE CHEATING," Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday, June 16.
As Costa noted in a follow-up tweet, Barr's suggestion that federal prosecutors may "trigger" an indictment soon means that Trump could be charged in two separate criminal investigations "in the coming weeks."
There have been indications that the investigation in Georgia where Trump and his allies are accused of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election results is drawing to a close. The former president could also face further indictments in that case. He allegedly pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" 11,780 votes, which would have won him the state in 2020. Again, Trump vehemently denies this.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the probe, is planning to have most of her staff working remotely between July 31 and August 18. She requested that judges not schedule trials or in-person hearings during these weeks in what is considered a strong indication that charges could be announced around then.
Willis' office previously said in a statement that federal indictments against Trump as part of the classified documents probe "will not have any impact" on the Fulton County election investigation.
Newsweek has contacted Trump's office for further comment via email.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
