Trump's legal team meets with special counsel as federal indictment looms

Donald Trump's defense lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith met Thursday in Washington, DC, without the former president's team getting any guidance about timing of a possible indictment, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The meeting happened on the same day that the grand jury hearing evidence from the special counsel's probe into election subversion efforts by Trump and his allies was seen at the federal courthouse.

A court official said that there will not be any grand jury indictment returns on Thursday. Grand jury proceedings are secret and it's unclear what Thursday's developments mean for Smith's investigation.

Since receiving a letter from Smith indicating he's a target of the investigation earlier this month, Trump had argued against a meeting between his attorneys and Smith's team because the former president believed the indictment was already a done deal, two sources familiar with his thinking said.

In seeking a meeting with Smith's team, Trump's lawyers hoped to at least delay any potential plans for the grand jury to hand up an indictment Thursday, people briefed on the plans said.

Another source familiar with the legal team's thinking told CNN they also expected to discuss the logistics of how a potential indictment and arraignment of the former president would work.

"My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country," Trump said on Truth Social.