Trump lawyers meet with special counsel's team about election interference probe

​​​​​​​By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are meeting Thursday with Special Counsel Jack Smith as a potential federal indictment looms, according to CNN, citing multiple sources.

Trump said last week that Justice Department officials have informed him that he is a target of an investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He said he received a letter from officials in Smith's office that told him he has "4 days" to present himself to the grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, which he said, "almost always means an Arrest and Indictment."

Since receiving the letter, Trump has argued against a meeting between his legal team and Smith’s team because he believed the indictment was already a done deal, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with his thinking.

The grand jury hearing evidence from the special counsel’s probe is sitting Thursday at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, CNN reported, adding that it spotted jurors and a prosecutor working for Smith entering the courthouse Wednesday.

Trump is charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and concealing documents from federal investigators, among other charges.

He has maintained the case is politically motivated, a charge denied Smith, who was tapped to independently carry out the federal probe by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in November.

Smith has maintained the integrity of the case brought after a grand jury decided to indict the president. A trial could be completed in as few as three weeks, Smith has said.