Trump's team seeks to learn whether special counsel has evidence, witnesses they don't know

Former President Donald Trump's lawyers and advisers are trying to figure out if there is evidence and witnesses they are unaware of that are bolstering special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to multiple sources familiar with Trump team's legal conversation.

The potential charges listed in the target letter suggest the special counsel will prosecute a bigger case against Trump than the former president's team was expecting, given the evidence they are aware of. That has led to questions if there is evidence or testimony they don't know about, the sources said.

Trump's team of lawyers and advisers have tried to keep close tabs on investigation. The former president's political action committee has underwritten legal costs for multiple witnesses, which has given them some insight into what has been shared with Smith's team.

Trump said on social media Tuesday that he received a target letter from Smith on Sunday, a signal that charges in the case could be coming soon. His legal team believes they have until Thursday at midnight to respond to special counsel Jack Smith and tell his office whether there are witnesses or evidence they want to offer, sources tell CNN.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment.

How Trump's legal team has viewed the ongoing investigation has shifted over time. At some points, Trump's team hoped for a best-case scenario where Trump was an unindicted co-conspirator, two people said. But as witnesses like Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and former White House aide Hope Hicks were called before the grand jury, it became much clearer to members of the legal team and Trump's inner circle that Smith was zeroing in on Trump's mindset.

The target letter cites three statutes that Trump could be charged with: pertaining to deprivation of rights; conspiracy to commit an offense against or defraud the United States; and tampering with a witness, according to multiple news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, which cited a person familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department has been known in the investigation to be examining possible violations of the law around conspiracy and obstruction of the congressional proceeding on January 6, which is part of the witness tampering law, CNN previously reported following a Justice Department search of a Trump administration adviser's home.

If Smith indicts Trump in the January 6 case, it would mark the third time that Trump has been criminally charged this year, and the second time by the special counsel. The Manhattan district attorney indicted Trump in March on charges of falsifying business records, and Smith charged Trump last month over the mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Trump has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Trump denounced the special counsel on Tuesday as he revealed the target letter. At a Fox News town hall in Iowa Tuesday evening, Trump claimed that the election probe amounts to "election interference" and called it a "disgrace."

Trump's legal team has not formally responded to the invitation to testify before the grand jury, which the letter provides, but it is largely expected that Trump will decline to do so. The letter caught Trump's team off guard, according to sources, as Trump's advisers had not been anticipating Smith could bring charges this month - or against Trump himself.

So far, Trump's team has not identified anyone else who received a target letter, according to sources.

The special counsel has undertaken a sprawling investigation into the attempts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including efforts to pressure state election officials, putting forward fake electors in seven states Trump lost, pressure campaigns at the Justice Department and toward his then-Vice President Mike Pence, and fundraising following the election.

The grand jury is continuing to hear from witnesses, and a close Trump adviser, Will Russell, is expected to appear on Thursday. Russell, a White House aide who has continued to work for Trump after he left office, has already testified to the grand jury at least twice before. Russell's attorney declined to comment.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.