What is a target letter? Trump says he got one from the DOJ's special counsel Jack Smith.

• Trump said he got a letter saying that he's a target of Jack Smith's Capitol riot investigation.
• A "target letter" is a DOJ letter informing someone that they are a target for criminal prosecution.
• The letter typically lays out the crimes the target is suspected of committing.

Former President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he received a letter from the special counsel Jack Smith informing him that he's a target in Smith's investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

A target letter is an official letter from the Justice Department telling someone that they may be prosecuted. 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 is 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.

The former president wrote on Truth Social that Smith's target letter gave him four days to appear before the January 6 grand jury, which he said "almost always means an Arrest and Indictment."

He did not release the letter. But typically, in addition to informing an individual of their status as a target, the letter lays out the charges they could be indicted on, their right to invoke their Fifth Amendment privileges, and how they can get a court-appointed lawyer.

It also warns targets against destroying or altering evidence and says doing so could result in obstruction-of-justice charges.