Special counsel Jack Smith has sought testimony from dozens of people as part of an investigation into the certification of the 2020 election, and his grand jury continues to meet with witnesses as the prospect of a third presidential indictment looms.
Smith, appointed special counsel in November, has shown interest in those closest to former President Donald Trump, including family members, top aides, and attorneys, and those Trump may have blamed or pressured in the aftermath of the election.
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While others could see indictments from the investigation, information that has surfaced about the secret grand jury’s subpoenas and meetings with prosecutors signals the former president is Smith’s prime suspect. A target letter Trump announced he received last week reinforced that notion.
The letter, which prosecutors typically send ahead of a nearing indictment, extended a courtesy to Trump to meet with the grand jury within four days, Trump said in a lengthy statement.
The Department of Justice “effectively issued a third indictment and Arrest of Joe Biden’s NUMBER ONE POLITICAL OPPONENT,” Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner, wrote.
Hinting at charges laid out in the letter, Trump added, “I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen, just as the Democrats have done against me in 2016.”
Smith was tasked specifically by Attorney General Merrick Garland with continuing the DOJ’s ongoing investigation into “whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote.”
Speculation swirled that Smith’s Washington, D.C.-based grand jury could deliver an indictment Thursday, but it never came. That same day, Trump wrote on Truth Social his attorneys had a “productive meeting” with DOJ and that “no indication of notice was given during the meeting.”
Below are some of those Smith has identified as relevant in the case.
Family members
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, testified to the grand jury in response to a subpoena in June that he believed Trump truly thought the election was “stolen,” according to the New York Times. The grand jury was looking for information about whether Trump privately believed he lost the election while publicly maintaining he won it, the outlet reported.
Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife and the former president’s eldest daughter who often worked in an advisory role in the White House, was also subpoenaed but has not testified, according to the outlet.
White House and campaign aides
Former Vice President Mike Pence testified before the grand jury in April, a source familiar confirmed. Pence, who became a top target for Trump in his allies in the aftermath of the election, presided over the Senate as members voted to certify the results of the Electoral College on Jan. 6, 2021. Pence, who is now running against Trump for president, at first remained relatively quiet about his decision to allow the Senate process to play out in the face of vocal objections from Trump. The former vice president has since embraced the decision, denouncing Trump for refusing to accept the election results publicly.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump attorney who himself is caught up in an election-related defamation lawsuit in Georgia, said this month he voluntarily complied with Smith’s request for an interview and that he compliantly gave answers except where he deemed them privileged. He noted Wednesday, “Of course I’m not cooperating against Donald Trump,” adding Trump is “innocent” and “they’re framing him.”
Stephen Miller, a senior adviser and speechwriter in the Trump White House, testified before the grand jury in April, the second time for him to do so, according to multiple reports.
Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and Dan Scavino, his former deputy chief of staff, have both testified to the grand jury, according to multiple reports.
Former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who worked for the Trump campaign to collect evidence of alleged voter fraud, said this month that Smith subpoenaed him for documents “several months ago” and that he complied once he received waivers from Trump’s legal team to release the documents.
“No one is selling out Trump or Giuliani. This is about giving the Special Counsel the evidence that the legal team collected under the supervision of [Giuliani], and was reviewing in the aftermath of the 2020 election relating to voter/election fraud, and improprieties in that election,” Kerik said.
Steve Bannon, a key strategist for Trump during his time in office, was convicted of contempt for not complying with the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee’s subpoena last year. Smith recently subpoenaed Bannon for documents and testimony, NBC News reported.
Top Department of Homeland Security officials who served while Trump was in office, including Ken Cuccinelli and Chad Wolf, testified to prosecutors or the grand jury about White House officials asking them if DHS could seize voting machines. They testified that they adamantly said the department could not, according to CNN.
Former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien also spoke about the topic with prosecutors this year, the outlet reported.
William Russell, a close aide to Trump, appeared before the grand jury last week, the most recent of multiple appearances, according to the Washington Post.
State officials
Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who Trump told in a now-famous leaked phone call to “find” nearly 12,000 votes, confirmed to a local Atlanta affiliate he met with federal prosecutors for hours and that he provided them with State Farm Arena election night surveillance footage. Trump and his attorneys claimed the footage showed officials pulling faulty ballots out of suitcases. The suitcase claim was debunked through multiple investigations.
Arizona GOP House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who was censured by his state party last year for his testimony to the Jan. 6 committee, confirmed to CNN host Kaitlan Collins this month that he met with federal investigators in the case.
“I’m hesitant to talk about any subpoenas, etc., but I have been interviewed by the FBI,” Bowers said.
Arizona Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes received two subpoenas for documents, including one as recently as May, according to the Arizona Republic. Smith served as Maricopa County recorder, overseeing a portion of the 2020 election process in one of the most closely watched and later most heavily scrutinized jurisdictions in the country. The subpoenas, the Arizona Republic said, sought information about lawsuits filed by Trump’s campaign and former Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward.
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Smith subpoenaed county clerks in November in certain battleground states, including Arizona and Wisconsin, for any communication “to, from, or involving” Trump or his campaign. The subpoena, published by NBC News, also sought communication involving any of 19 figures who are or used to be in Trump’s orbit, including John Eastman, who crafted a memo bullet-pointing reasons he believed Pence could reject the Electoral College results in January 2021.
The subpoena also named among the 19 Kerik and Giuliani, as well as Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, the duo who notoriously encouraged Georgia voters to stay home in the 2021 runoffs because, they claimed, the state’s election process was faulty.
