Defendant Trump's Former White House Lawyer Says Trump Could Be Charged
With Conspiracy, Obstruction, And Aiding Insurrectionists Related To The
Capitol Riot

Trump's one-time White House lawyer told CNN he thinks the former
president could be indicted in Jack Smith's Capitol riot investigation
as soon as Thursday. Ty Cobb also said he thinks Trump could be
charged with conspiracy, obstruction, and aiding insurrectionists.
Smith's office informed Trump that he was a target in the
investigation over the weekend.

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Former President Donald Trump's one-time White House counsel said Tuesday
that if Trump is indicted in the Justice Department's Capitol riot probe,
it'll happen as soon as Thursday and no later than Monday.

Ty Cobb, who served as Trump's White House special counsel in 2017 and
2018, told CNN's Erin Burnett that he believes Trump will be charged with
obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and
conspiracy to defraud the US. He added that he also thinks there's a
chance Trump could be charged with giving aid and comfort to
insurrectionists.

"There are a variety of ways to charge this that all boil down to the same
conduct," Cobb told CNN Tuesday.

Specifically, he was referring to Trump's efforts to pressure then-Vice
President Mike Pence to reject electors from battleground states that Joe
Biden won in the 2020 election; efforts to stop some of those states from
certifying Biden's victory; and his potential interference with witnesses.

"There's an outside chance that he could be charged with giving aid and
comfort to the insurrectionists," Cobb added, "as a result of his three
hours of inaction" on the day of the Capitol riot, and his "intervening
message calling Pence a coward."

Cobb has long believed that special counsel Jack Smith's investigation
into the Capitol riot is the most dangerous legal threat the former
president faces.

"No matter what, the most serious case he faces is the January 6
investigation," Cobb told Insider last August. "Not necessarily because of
January 6 alone but coupled with the fake electors scheme and the
interference alleged in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere."

"That's the case that has him at the most risk and is more at the heart of
what the Justice Department would take seriously," he added.

Trump said on Truth Social Tuesday that Smith's office sent him a letter
over the weekend formally notifying him that he is a target for criminal
prosecution in connection to the sprawling January 6 investigation. Target
letters often � but not always � precede an indictment, in which
prosecutors formally lay out the criminal charges they're bringing against
someone.

Trump's announcement Tuesday was the biggest sign yet that he could be
indicted for a third time. He was previously charged in New York in
connection to a $130,000 payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels,
and he was federally indicted in Florida in relation to his handling of
classified documents.

Insider reached out to a lawyer for Trump for comment.