'Fasten Your Seat Belts': Indictment Rumors Swirl Amid Report That Jack Smith’s Grand Jury Is Reconvening

‘Fasten your seat belts’: Indictment rumors swirl amid report that Jack Smith’s grand jury is reconvening.

Prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith have been presenting the grand jury with evidence and witness testimony for months, but activity appeared to have slowed in recent weeks based on observations at the courthouse and sources.

It’s unclear whether prosecutors are prepared to seek an indictment at this point. The Justice Department would not comment on the status of the investigation.

According to reporting from NBC News and other outlets, prosecutors face two central legal questions: 1) Did Trump wrongfully retain classified documents after he left the White House? 2) Did he later obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve them?

If Smith decides to charge Trump, it would be the first time a former president has been charged with a federal crime. Though Trump has already been indicted in New York with state crimes related to hush money payments, the cases differ dramatically.

Trump maintains that he has broken no laws and continues to lambast Smith and the Justice Department, dismissing the investigation as a politically motivated smear campaign. Here’s what we know and what we don’t know, and what to watch for as this unprecedented legal case unfolds.

Although NBC stressed that “it’s unclear whether prosecutors are prepared to seek an indictment at this point,” rumors nonetheless swirled amongst legal experts following the publication of NBC’s story.

Ex-Deputy Attorney General Harry Litman tweeted that “the obvious inference-not the only one but the most obvious— is they’re reconvening to vote out an indictment. Fasten your seat belts.”

Conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin responded that “the special counsel’s recommendation has been made” and that Attorney General Merrick Garland “has decided to follow it.”

Late Saturday night, NBC News dropped a potential bombshell when it reported that the federal grand jury that has been examining evidence in the United States Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents will reconvene this upcoming week.

“Prosecutors face two central legal questions: 1) Did Trump wrongfully retain classified documents after he left the White House? 2) Did he later obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve them?” NBC noted. “If Smith decides to indict Trump, it would be the first time a former president has been charged with a federal crime. Though Trump has already been charged in New York with state crimes related to hush money payments, the cases differ dramatically.”