Donald Trump says he is the target of a criminal inquiry into 2020 election

Former US president Donald Trump is potentially facing an indictment on criminal charges for a third time within the next few weeks.

Mr Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he has been told by special counsel Jack Smith that he is the target of an investigation into his efforts to hold on to power following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

The former president suggested that he would shortly be arrested and charged.

In a post on his social media platform Mr Trump said: “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s department of justice, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short four days to report to the grand jury, which almost always means an arrest and Indictment.”

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Under the US legal system such a “target letter” is frequently sent to those under investigation to give them an opportunity to make a case to members of a grand jury. Comprising members of the public who are typically registered voters, a grand jury determines whether there is enough evidence to prosecute a person and whether there is probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.

The special counsel is understood to have been looking into various moves made by Mr Trump and his allies after the 2020 election to try hold on to power. This included attempts to manipulate the US electoral college system by using slates of so-called fake electors to cast ballots in support of the former president rather than his rival Joe Biden who won the election.

Following the election, Mr Trump insisted that he had won and he and his allies looked at various options for staying in power.

Ultimately he summoned supporters to gather in Washington on January 6th, 2021 where he urged them to march on the Capitol building at a time when members of Congress were certifying the election victory of Mr Biden.

Hundreds of Mr Trump’s supporters broke into the Capitol building, some of whom chanted “hang [vice-president] Mike Pence”.

As part of his investigation Mr Smith and his team have interviewed key people who were in the orbit of the former president, including Mr Pence, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

If Mr Trump is charged it will mean that he is facing three criminal trials. Potentially he could be indicted for a fourth time, in Georgia, where he is facing a state investigation into attempts to interfere with the 2020 election result there.

Mr Trump has already been indicted on 37 counts relating to his handling of classified documents which he took with him from the White House after he left office and brought to his home and club, Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

A judge in this case is expected to consider at a hearing on Tuesday when this trial should take place. Prosecutors want a speedy process, but it is likely that Mr Trump will seek to delay proceedings.

The former president has also been charged in New York with falsifying business records related to 2016 hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He is due to stand trial in this case next March.