GOP presidential hopefuls seem to agree on at least one thing: Former president Donald Trump's actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election were unbecoming of a world leader.
The question of whether Trump's behavior leading up to and during the January 6 Capitol riot warrant criminal consequences yields a less conclusive response.
The candidates once again find themselves in the position of having to respond to potential criminal charges against Trump, after he shared on Tuesday that he has received a target letter in the special counsel's January 6 probe, signaling that an indictment may be imminent.
"Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden's DOJ, 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 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He participated in a town hall with Fox News' Sean Hannity in Iowa later in the day, where he told the pro-Trump crowd that the letter "bothers" him.
"I got the letter on Sunday night. Think of it. I don't think they've ever sent a letter on Sunday night," Trump said. "And they're in a rush, because they want to interfere. It's interference with the election. It's election interference. Never been done like this in the history of our country, and it's a disgrace."
It's unclear what charges Trump may face if he is indeed indicted, but the House select committee that investigated the Capitol riot made referrals to the Department of Justice on four charges: inciting or aiding an insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make a false statement.
Former vice president Mike Pence, who was in the Capitol on January 6 as the then-president's supporters called for him to be hanged, reacted to the news on Tuesday by saying Trump's actions were "reckless" but that he hopes the president will not be indicted.
"I'm not convinced that the president acting on the bad advice of a group of crank lawyers that came into the White House in the days before Jan. 6 is actually criminal," said Pence, who has testified before the grand jury in the case.
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