‘There Is A Degree of Legal Jeopardy Coming’: Trump’s Ex-White House Lawyer Reacts to Blockbuster Target Letter on CNN
Jim Schultz, who served as associate White House counsel under former President Donald Trump, told CNN that Jack Smith‘s bombshell target letter sent to the former president in the Jan. 6 criminal probe means the former president can expect “legal jeopardy” heading in his direction.
“Look, it shows that there is a degree of legal jeopardy coming in the direction of the former president, and that’s always serious for anybody who receives a target letter,” Schultz said. “So, I do think that, you know, it’s something that needs to be taken seriously, and perhaps an indictment is on its way. We saw in the last case, that that preceded an indictment — I think we’re likely to see the same thing here, and he is probably not going to go in to testify.”
Trump announced on his Truth Social account Tuesday that he was a “TARGET” in the Capitol riot criminal probe and that he’s “almost” certain he’ll be indicted for having a role in Jan. 6. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported that the Trump team was “caught off guard” by the letter, but Schultz said he saw it coming.
“Well, I mean, we saw it beginning to wrap up,” Schultz said. “As you are closer and closer to the inner circle, and more and more folks coming in to the grand jury — that’s a signal they’re coming to the close. So, the culmination of that is, they have sent him a target letter, and we don’t know who else has received, or if anyone else has received target letters associated with it.”
Schultz said he did not expect Trump to be charged with or convicted of inciting the riot due to “First Amendment speech issues.”
“I expect it has a lot to do with, perhaps, conspiracy to commit fraud in relating to the overturning of a valid election — you know there’s a number of factors — the fake electors scheme, and perhaps the trying to switch the attorney general out, pressure on the former vice president — there is a number of different things that can all culminate together to perhaps form their case,” Schultz said.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
