Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sat down Tuesday with CNN’s Jake Tapper for an interview — and even just by sitting across from Tapper, DeSantis entered unfamiliar territory.

It was the first interview that DeSantis has given a mainstream media outlet since he announced his run for president in late May. That pivot comes amid reports of other changes within his campaign, including a staffing reduction, as early polls show he remains persistently stuck in second place behind former President Donald Trump.

Part of DeSantis’ interview with Tapper on Tuesday addressed Trump directly, in light of the news that Trump is the target of a federal investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election — the latest in a list of legal woes that have seen his support with Republican voters only increase since the spring, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.

When asked by Tapper if Trump should be held accountable if special counsel Jack Smith finds evidence of criminality, DeSantis talked about what he claims to be unfair treatment of Republicans by federal agencies before saying, “I hope he doesn’t get charged.” (Trump has denied any wrongdoing.)

“I don’t think it serves us good to have a presidential election focused on what happened four years ago in January, and so I want to focus on looking forward,” DeSantis told Tapper.

The governor was pressed on some of the policy positions he has pushed on the campaign trail, including his criticism of what he calls politicization in the military and his reluctance to boost Ukraine’s fight against Russia, arguing it is not a major U.S. priority.

The interview, conducted in South Carolina, where DeSantis campaigned this week, lacked any of the fierce back-and-forths that have sometimes marked DeSantis’ interaction with reporters.

On Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which DeSantis in March called “a territorial dispute,” before walking back those comments, saying he was misunderstood, after blowback including from Republican leaders like Sen. John Thune of South Dakota — the governor told Tapper that the war is “more of a secondary or tertiary interest” for the United States.

DeSantis called on Europe to be more involved in supporting Ukraine while promising to commit American resources to the Indo-Pacific region to deter China from potentially attacking Taiwan.

Asked whether he would push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cede land that Russia seized in order to bring about an end to the invasion, DeSantis did not answer directly, calling for “a sustainable, enduring peace in Europe, but one that does not reward aggression.”

DeSantis defended the state of his own campaign, which financial filings published Saturday show has burned through nearly $8 million in the initial weeks after he launched his White House bid, without much improvement in the polls.

DeSantis blamed his stagnant numbers on being a top target for other campaigns and opponents.

“I think the reason is I was getting a lot of media attention at the time, coming off the victory,” he said, pointing to his 20-point reelection win last year.

DeSantis, a Navy veteran, blamed “woke” policies for a decline in military enrollment, though he acknowledged the term “woke” is not widely understood.

When Tapper presented a survey suggesting that “wokeness” ranked ninth in a list of factors affecting enrollment, DeSantis responded, “Well, but I think there’s an issue about — not everyone really knows what wokeness is. I mean, I’ve defined it, but a lot of people who’ve railed against wokeness can’t even define it. And so I think it’s a sense of, this is not something that’s holding true to the core martial values that make the military unique.”

DeSantis, who as governor has supported restrictions on transgender people’s access to gender-affirming care, particularly for trans children — and faced fierce criticism from advocates as a result — was asked by Tapper about how trans people would fare under his administration.

“I would respect everybody, but what I wouldn’t do is turn society upside down to be able to accommodate [what] is a very, very small percentage of the population,” he said.

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(CONCORD, N.H.) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday that he will not run for reelection next year, elevating the race to replace him to the heart of the gubernatorial map in 2024.

Sununu, a Republican who is serving his fourth two-year term as his state’s executive, hails from a prominent family in New Hampshire and is considered near-royalty in local political circles. His announcement leaves the GOP field wide open — but not empty.

Former state Senate President Chuck Morse quickly jumped into the race and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte teased an upcoming announcement, too.

In a letter to supporters, Sununu wrote that “public service should never be a career, and the time is right for another Republican to lead our great state.”

He went on to tout his time in office, including lowering the unemployment rate and cutting taxes.

“Be assured we will keep working and that the Granite State will continue to be our priority for the next 18 months,” he wrote.

Sununu repeatedly won reelection in his swing state, often by yawning margins, and on some issues he established a brand separate from that of the national GOP, including by vociferously supporting access to both firearms and abortion.

He had hinted at his decision several times over the course of the summer.

“I’m in my fourth term, probably out of here in 18 months or so. I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to run again, but I’m really not sure,” Sununu said in an interview in June.

He was pushed by Republican critics of Donald Trump to run for the White House next year, though he declined, worrying too many primary competitors would actually help the former president clinch the nomination.

“The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help ensure this does not happen,” he wrote in an op-ed column for The Washington Post last month.

It’s unclear what the governor plans to do after leaving office. While the 2024 presidential primary race is still in its early stages, he has said he’s given advice and insight to some of the candidates — and spoken openly about who he thinks could be competitive.

Morse, now seeking to succeed Sununu, ran for the U.S. Senate last year against Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan with broad establishment support (after Sununu himself said he would stay put in the governor’s mansion). Morse ended up losing the primary to hard-liner Don Bolduc, who then went on to lose to Hassan by about 10 points.

“Like most everyone else in New Hampshire I’m thankful for everything that Governor Sununu has done to make New Hampshire the state it is today. I’m proud to have worked with him to put together a conservative, pro-jobs, pro-growth, family first economic agenda that has made New Hampshire the envy of New England and the nation,” Morse said in a statement.

Ayotte served one term as senator before losing reelection to Hassan in 2016, falling short by just over 1,000 votes. She said in a statement that “I look forward to announcing some big news in the coming days.”

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, the leading Democratic candidate in the gubernatorial race, said in a statement that the contest presents New Hampshire voters an opportunity for a “new direction.”

“As I’ve had conversations with people across our state I’ve heard over and over that we need a governor that will support our cities and towns, lower costs, strengthen public education, build affordable housing, and protect our reproductive rights. I’m running for Governor to do just that,” she said.

Sununu’s decision not to seek another term makes New Hampshire among Democrats’ better flip opportunities next year. Democrats have not held the governor’s mansion since Hassan left office in early 2017 after winning her Senate seat.

The campaign arms for both parties insisted they will be heavily involved in the race, previewing the pitched battle ahead.

“The RGA is committed to ensuring the Granite State continues to have the leadership of a Republican Governor who will prioritize the health, safety and prosperity of the people of New Hampshire,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, the chair of the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement.

The Democratic Governors Association, meanwhile, indicated it will tie the race’s Republican candidates to the broader GOP brand, led by Trump.

“No matter which MAGA candidate becomes the nominee, the DGA is eager to hold them accountable to flip this seat and elect a new Democratic governor who will at long last fix the biggest issues impacting working families,” said DGA Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper.

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(WASHINGTON) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday morning, highlighting the foundations of the U.S.-Israel relationship in addition to addressing antisemitism amid tensions between Israel and some members of Congress.

Herzog received a standing ovation when entering the House chamber — a rare bipartisan display despite some Democrats expressing criticism of the nation’s leadership — and started his address reminiscing about 1987, when his father, then-President Chaim Herzog, spoke before Congress.

“That moment, in which I learned of the life he gave for the State of Israel, spoke to the very core of the bond forged between the people of the United States and the people of Israel, how the nations we built overcame loss, how deeply our stories complement each other, [and] how far we have all come, together,” Herzog said.

During his address, Herzog said the greatest challenge Israel and the United States face is the Iranian nuclear program.

“Let there be no doubt: Iran does not strive to attain nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Iran is building nuclear capabilities that pose a threat to the stability of the Middle East and beyond. Every country or region controlled or infiltrated by Iran has experienced utter havoc,” he said.

Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a key priority of Israel, Herzog said.

“Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state — whether by omission or by diplomatic commission — is unacceptable. The world cannot remain indifferent to the Iranian regime’s call to wipe Israel off the map,” he added.

Herzog said Israel has “taken bold steps toward peace” with its Palestinian neighbors but “true peace cannot be anchored in violence.”

He’s optimistic about a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and “it is time to design the next stage of our evolving friendship and our growing partnership together.”

“When the United States is strong, Israel is stronger. And when Israel is strong, the United States is more secure,” he said.

Attacking Jewish people anywhere in the world is antisemitism, Herzog said, highlighting President Joe Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. Reported antisemitic incidents reached all-time high in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The Israeli president also alluded to recent remarks by some Democrats, including Jayapal, Ocasio-Cortez, and others, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for his approach toward West Bank settlements.

“I am not oblivious to criticism among friends, including some expressed by respected members of this House. I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it,” he said, drawing laughs from the gallery.

“But criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the State of Israel’s right to exist. Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, is not legitimate diplomacy, it is antisemitism,” he added.

Several House progressives were absent from the chamber, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal who walked back her initial comments that Israel is a “racist state” — remarks that resulted in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote affirming Israel is not a racist or apartheid state and condemning antisemitism. Jayapal voted for the resolution. Her office confirmed to ABC that she skipped the Wednesday address “due to scheduling conflicts.”

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Ilhan Omar, and Cori Bush, all of whom were among the nine House progressives who voted against the resolution on Tuesday, skipped Herzog’s address. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Nydia Velazquez, who supported the resolution, also did not attend.

Herzog also referenced protests over judicial reform in Israel — a key sticking point for House progressives — saying it’s “no secret that over the past few months, the Israeli people have engaged in a heated and painful debate.”

It’s an “intense debate” and is the “clearest tribute to the fortitude of Israel’s democracy,” he added.

Herzog closed his speech saying “Am Yisrael Chai,” which means “The Jewish nation lives.”

“God Bless the State of Israel and God Bless the United States of America,” he said, receiving a big standing ovation and cheers in the House chamber.

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(WASHINGTON) — Two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify for the first time publicly about their claims that the Justice Department mishandled its yearslong investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden – allegations disputed by both the Justice Department and the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney who led the government’s case.

Gary Shapley, a 14-year IRS veteran, and his deputy, known only as “Whistleblower X,” were expected to reiterate allegations to Republican-led House committees that they’ve previously leveled in private accusing U.S. Attorney David Weiss of granting favorable treatment to the president’s son.

The deputy who testified was revealed to be named Joseph Ziegler.

“Based on this experience, I am here to tell you that the Delaware USAO (U.S. Attorney’s Office) and Department of Justice handling of the Hunter Biden tax investigation was very different from any other case in my 14 years at the IRS,” Shapley is expected to tell the committee, according to testimony before the House Oversight Committee obtained by ABC News.

In June, the younger Biden struck a deal with Weiss’ office to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and enter into a diversion program to avoid prosecution on a felony gun charge. He will likely avoid jail time if a judge signs off on the arrangement next week in Delaware.

Republicans decried it as a “sweetheart deal,” and have pointed to Shapley’s allegations as evidence of a justice system that benefitted the president’s son.

But Weiss himself has directly disputed some of Shapley’s most troubling claims, notably that Justice Department leaders rebuffed Weiss’ request for special counsel status.

“To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation,” Weiss wrote earlier this month in a letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Central to Wednesday’s hearing will be Shapley’s credibility as a witness.

Republicans have framed him as a nonpartisan bureaucrat who came forward at great risk to his career.

But as taxpayers evaluate the merit of Shapley’s claims, Democrats have sought to highlight Shapley’s decision to hire Empower Oversight, a legal and public relations team comprised of former staffers from the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa – one of the Senate’s fiercest Biden family critics.

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(WASHINGTON) — Concerned about the massive bureaucratic lift of restarting student loan payments this fall, some Senate Democrats are questioning whether loan servicers can smoothly transition out of a three-year-long payment pause.

“With the resumption of payments now fast approaching, we are requesting updated information on your plans to ensure a smooth transition back into repayment for borrowers,” the senators wrote in a letter sent to four major loan servicers Tuesday and obtained exclusively by ABC News.

The letter, signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, was sent to MOHELA, Maximus Federal Services, Nelnet and EdFinancial.

Student loan payments are scheduled to restart in October, and although the Biden administration announced that there will be a 12-month “on-ramp” period where borrowers will not be penalized for missing payments, interest will still start accruing on Sept. 1 — marking the end of the payment moratorium that began at the start of the pandemic.

In their letter, the senators said they were not persuaded that loan servicers were “prepared” for this change, citing what they deemed as insufficient communications between servicers and borrowers over the past few years.

“While we appreciated the Administration’s latest announcement of a 12-month ‘on-ramp’ transition period to help borrowers avoid the harshest consequences of missed, partial, or late payments, our previous correspondence with student loan servicers indicated that they had had little engagement with borrowers throughout the pandemic and were not prepared to support borrowers once payments resumed,” the senators wrote.

The senators also wrote letters to servicers in June and December 2021 with similar questions about outreach to student loan borrowers. Both inquiries received responses, though the senators said they were displeased with the data they saw: “only half of the servicers shared any information on borrower response rates, and those that did share this information had not been in touch with the majority of new borrowers,” they wrote on Tuesday.

MOHELA, Maximus, Nelnet and EdFinancial did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment Tuesday night.

While the Education Department has maintained that it will “be in direct touch with borrowers and ramping up our communications with servicers well before repayment resumes,” much of the execution will still come down to loan servicers.

In their letter, the senators said that they were concerned with the heavy workload and weakened ability of those servicers to take it on, highlighting layoffs and vast transfers of borrowers over the last three years of the pause.

“Since 2020, a number of servicers have exited the federal student loan program. About half of all borrowers — approximately 17 million — have been transferred to new servicer, with that number expected to grow in the next few months,” the senators wrote.

“We are also concerned by reports indicating that servicers are laying off employees and may be understaffed for the deluge of borrower communication,” they wrote.

These challenges come as the Office of Federal Student Aid — the government agency in charge of overseeing student loans — did not receive a funding increase this year, over which both Democrats and Republicans have voiced concern.

“Never has this ever been done where — depending on the decision of the Supreme Court — up to 43 million borrowers are going to start repaying,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told lawmakers in a congressional hearing, before the Supreme Court overturned President Joe Biden’s attempt to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for some Americans.

“It’s a huge lift for our team,” Cardona said.

The senators documented these workload difficulties, saying it increases “the risk that borrowers could fall through the cracks when payments resume.”

“But it is critical that servicers dedicate sufficient staff to respond to borrowers seeking information about the return to repayment, provide accurate information to borrowers about their payment obligations and options to manage their loan, ensure borrowers are assigned to the appropriate payment plan, and notify borrowers about any changes on a timely basis,” they wrote.

The senators requested responses from the loan servicers by Aug. 1, including details about how many new borrower accounts they’d taken on, the experience levels of new customer service employees, outreach to borrowers and steps being taken to avoid errors.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s campaign slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ culture war platform on Tuesday as a “contrived political stunt,” in its first on the record comments on the Republican presidential candidate.

DeSantis rolled out a proposal to “rip the woke out of the military” by, in part, ridding it of any groups that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, banning race and gender quotas, and prohibiting drag shows on bases in a speech in South Carolina.

“We’re now in a situation where we find ourselves seeing the military go down a very different path,” DeSantis said. “It’s a military that has been ordered by civilian officials to pursue political ideology.”

However, later in the day, DeSantis said during an interview on CNN that many people are unfamiliar with the term “woke” and do not know how to define it.

“Well, but I think there’s an issue about – not everyone really knows what wokeness is,” DeSantis said after being presented a survey of the Army that showed “woke” did not rank near the top of concerns service members had. “I mean, I’ve defined it, but a lot of people who’ve railed against wokeness can’t even define it.”

The Biden campaign seized on the Florida governor’s remarks.

“Ron DeSantis himself just told CNN ‘not everyone really knows what wokeness is’– admitting his hallmark campaign issue is a contrived political stunt,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told ABC News.

“If Ron DeSantis actually cared about the military, he would call on Senator Tuberville to stop the unprecedented damage he’s doing to the armed forces and military families every day by blockading of hundreds of military nominations and promotions,” Munoz said.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has for months blocked many military nominations because of his opposition to the Pentagon’s policy on supporting members who travel for abortions.

DeSantis, who has struggled to make headway in the Republican presidential primary against former President Donald Trump, made taking on “woke” ideology a cornerstone of his agenda as governor, and has campaigned on taking his fight national while on the campaign trail.

DeSantis repeatedly touts the message “Florida is where woke goes to die” in front of audiences across the country. However, Democrats believe it’s one they can beat.

“It’s proof of the larger problem MAGA Republicans are facing in this race,” Munoz added. “They have a deeply unpopular agenda that Americans have rejected time and time again, so instead, they recycle the same divisive culture wars and attacks on bedrock freedoms meant to tear Americans apart.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Republican candidates for president and lawmakers on Capitol Hill largely fell in line, again, behind former President Donald Trump on Tuesday after he was informed that he is a target in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The target letter indicates that Trump, who is already facing New York state charges over hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign and a federal indictment in Florida over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, will likely be indicted for a third time — which is unprecedented for any current or former president.

While it is not yet clear what specific charges Trump could be accused of, and he has adamantly denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in Florida and New York, Republicans on Tuesday defended him as being victimized by federal law enforcement.

Attorney General Merrick Garland previously defended Smith, the independent prosecutor overseeing the Department of Justice investigations of Trump, as a “veteran” committed to “integrity.”

No specific evidence of politicization has emerged. Even so, it has become a key talking point among critics of the cases against Trump.

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered Trump’s strongest primary rival, told ABC News’ Rachel Scott at a news conference on Tuesday that the former president “should have come out more forcefully” as the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection unfolded but directed sharper criticism at law enforcement.

“Criminal charges is not just because you may have done something wrong. It’s — did you behave criminally? And I think what we’ve seen in this country is an attempt to criminalize politics and to try to criminalize differences. So, I don’t know what was all about that,” DeSantis said.

Former Vice President Mike Pence offered his first reaction Tuesday night on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” continuing to condemn the events of Jan. 6 while being careful not to alienate Trump’s base.

After calling former Trump’s words on Jan. 6 “reckless” and repeating his standard lines that “Trump was wrong” and “history will hold him to account for his actions,” Pence said his conduct shouldn’t result in criminal charges.

“With regard to the prospect of an indictment, I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’m not convinced that the president acting on the bad advice of, of a group of crank lawyers that came in into White House in the days before January 6, is actually criminal,” he said.

Tech entrepreneur and GOP primary Vivek Ramaswamy, in a statement of his own, also claimed partisanship is at work and called “the pending Jan 6 indictment of Trump is arguably the most dangerous of all to our Constitutional Republic.”

Some GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill sounded similar notes.

“If you notice recently, President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for reelection,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California told reporters, without specifying to which polls he was referring. “So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go after their No. 1 opponent.”

“This shameful witch hunt against President Trump by Joe Biden’s corrupt Department of Justice is just the latest chilling chapter in the Far Left’s unAmerican weaponization of the justice system against their leading political opponent,” New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House GOP Conference, said in a statement.

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.

Trump also got backup from the main super PAC supporting his comeback bid.

“This is election interference. … Fortunately, President Trump will not back down. He will be back in the White House and he will restore greatness to our beloved nation,” Make America Great Again Inc. spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

What polls show is that, according to FiveThirtyEight, Trump’s support in the GOP presidential primary actually rose after his two impeachments, with the former president currently boasting a nearly 30-point lead over DeSantis.

Trump has also boasted strong second-quarter fundraising numbers, suggesting his campaign isn’t losing financial support from his party’s base. (His campaign sent out a fundraising email Tuesday after news of the target letter broke.)

More broadly, however, many voters have said Trump’s legal troubles are a problem for him.

For example, in the wake of his federal indictment in Florida, 48% percent of Americans said Trump should have been charged with crimes, while 35% said he should not have been and 17% said they didn’t know, an ABC News/Ipsos survey found. And 46% said then that Trump should suspend his bid for the White House, while 38% said he should not and 16% didn’t know.

Tuesday’s supportive reactions on the right reflect a trend as many figures in the Republican Party defended the former president after his two indictments so far, with only some voicing concerns about the seriousness of the allegations against him.

“Two things can be true at the same time. One, the DOJ and FBI have lost all credibility with the American people. … The second thing can also be true if this indictment [in Florida] is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security,” former South Carolina GOP Gov. Nikki Haley said in June.

Haley on Tuesday chose to ignore the target letter, instead seeking to focus on her own campaign.

“The rest of this primary election is going to be in reference to Trump, is going to be about lawsuits, is going to be about legal fees, it’s going to be about judges and it’s going to continue to be a further and further distraction,” Haley said on Fox News. “And that is why I am running. It’s because we need a new generational leader. We can’t keep dealing with this drama. We can’t keep dealing with the negativity.”

Some Republican leaders have supported investigations into the 2021 riot, with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., saying in 2021 that “it was a horrendous event, and I think what they are seeking to find out is something the public needs to know,” referencing the then-select House committee probing the insurrection.

McConnell, in a floor speech in February 2021, soon after the Capitol attack, said, “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen. He didn’t get away with anything yet.”

The Kentuckian, who has not yet commented on the new target letter, rebuked Trump after voting to acquit him in his second impeachment trial. “Impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice,” the lawmaker said then.

On Tuesday, though, few Republicans directly took on Trump, leaving longshot presidential candidates as the loudest voices criticizing the primary frontrunner.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is polling at the back of the GOP primary field and who has consistently criticized Trump, came out with full-throated condemnation of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

“I have said from the beginning that Donald Trump’s actions on January 6 should disqualify him from ever being President again. As a former federal prosecutor, I understand the severity of Grand Jury investigations and what it means to be targeted by such an investigation,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

Former Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, another Trump critic and long shot candidate for the GOP nomination, echoed that.

“Jan. 6 was a dark day for democracy. Trump’s inaction then, and now being a target in the investigation, proves he’s not fit for office,” Hurd wrote in a tweet. “Our country deserves leaders who will put the Constitution and the American people above all else.”

ABC News’ Libby Cathey and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — With sources saying special counsel Jack Smith has sent former President Donald Trump a “target letter,” what does that mean, as a general matter ?

An official notice, a target letter, according to Justice Department guidelines and experts who spoke with ABC News, is typically the last step in an investigation before an individual is charged.

“A target letter, as a technical matter, is notification that the government has substantial evidence linking you to a crime and that you are a quote, putative defendant,” Widge Devaney, a former federal prosecutor said. “As a practical matter, it means we are almost certainly going to charge you, and if you have anything to say to us say it now.”

An example target letter posted on the Justice Department website outlines that if an individual is informed that if he or she wants to testify before the grand jury, they have a final opportunity.

“You are advised that you are a target of the Grand Jury’s investigation,” the example target letter says. “You may refuse to answer any question if a truthful answer to the question would tend to incriminate you. Anything that you do or say may be used against you in a subsequent legal proceeding.”

Former federal prosecutor Joseph Moreno told ABC News it is highly unlikely a target of an investigation would choose to testify.

“In theory, a target can come in and convince a grand jury why charges would not be appropriate. In reality, this is rarely successful and if anything the target has now provided incriminating responses which are admissible at trial,” Moreno said. “For these reasons defense counsel will almost always advise their clients not to speak with a grand jury or anyone for that matter, as it is significant downside and very little upside.”

When Trump was charged by Smith in the national security documents case, he received a target letter shortly before he was indicted.

However, there is no rule on the time frame in which a target letter can be sent, according to Devaney. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the documents case.

“I think in this particular instance, I would just look back to that one precedent we have, this was sort of a final notice that that’s how Smith used the target letter,” he explained, adding it is “rare” for someone to get a target letter and not get charged.

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(LANSING, Mich.) — The Michigan attorney general has announced charges against the state’s 16 “fake electors,” the office announced in a press release on Tuesday afternoon, for their alleged role in the scheme after the 2020 presidential election.

Attorney General Dana Nessel charged each of the state’s electors with felonies including conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery and other charges.

The 16 electors allegedly met “covertly” in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on Dec. 14 and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the duly elected electors.

Those false documents were then “transmitted to the United States Senate and National Archives in a coordinated effort to award the state’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing, in place of the candidates actually elected by the people of Michigan.”

The investigation remains ongoing, the release says.

“The false electors’ actions undermined the public’s faith in the integrity of our elections and, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan,” Nessel said in a statement. “My department has prosecuted numerous cases of election law violations throughout my tenure, and it would be malfeasance of the greatest magnitude if my department failed to act here in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organized effort to circumvent the lawfully cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election.”

The 16 electors were identified as Kathy Berden, 70; William Choate, 72; Amy Facchinello, 55; Clifford Frost, 75; Stanley Grot, 71; John Haggard, 82; Mary-Ann Henry, 65; Timothy King, 56; Michele Lundgren, 73; Meshawn Maddock, 55; James Renner, 76; Mayra Rodriguez, 64; Rose Rook, 81; Marian Sheridan, 69; Ken Thompson, 68; and Kent Vanderwood, 69.

“Every serious challenge to the election had been denied, dismissed, or otherwise rejected by the time the false electors convened,” Nessel said in a statement. “There was no legitimate legal avenue or plausible use of such a document or an alternative slate of electors. There was only the desperate effort of these defendants, who we have charged with deliberately attempting to interfere with and overturn our free and fair election process, and along with it, the will of millions of Michigan voters.”

Nessel had announced she was reopening an investigation into the slate of fake electors on Jan. 6, the second anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

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(WEST COLUMBIA, S.C.) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday tried to walk a fine line when asked about former President Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 — in light of the news that Trump has been told he is the target of the federal investigation into the insurrection and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

At a press conference in South Carolina, where DeSantis is campaigning, ABC News’ Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott asked if the governor believes Trump bears any responsibility for what happened two years ago.

“Criminal charges [are] not just because you may have done something wrong. It’s — did you behave criminally? And I think what we’ve seen in this country is an attempt to criminalize politics and to try to criminalize differences. So I don’t know what was all about that,” said DeSantis, who is Trump’s biggest Republican primary rival.

Repeating a familiar part of his pitch to GOP voters, DeSantis also insisted that as president he would “end” what he claimed was the “weaponization of these [government] agencies.”

“I will get that job done. We will make it happen.”

Both Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith, the independent prosecutor who is overseeing the Department of Justice’s investigations of Trump, have defended their work.

“Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor. He has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity,” Garland said last month. “Any questions about this matter will have to be answered by their filings in court.”

Trump has denied all wrongdoing. He faces two indictments already — one in New York state court, related to hush money he paid to an adult film actress during the 2016 election; and one in federal court in Florida related to his alleged mishandling of government secrets while out of office.

He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Polling shows his support among Republican voters has not dimmed since charges were brought against him, though voter surveys show the public believes both cases are at least somewhat serious.

On Tuesday, when pressed again on whether he thought Trump’s actions related to Jan. 6 were wrong, DeSantis said that there was more the former president could’ve done more from the White House as the Capitol was overrun.

“Look, there’s a difference between being brought up on criminal charges and doing things like, for example, I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while things were going on,” DeSantis said Tuesday. “He should have come out more forcefully, of course. … But to try to criminalize that, that’s a different issue entirely.”

A previous committee convened in the House that investigated Jan. 6 found, according to its work, that Trump “chose not to act” for approximately three hours after initially giving a speech near the White House encouraging supporters to march to the Capitol — before later telling rioters to leave the complex.

During a House Jan. 6 committee hearing last year, former White House officials painted a picture of Trump sitting in a private dining room off the Oval Office watching the events of Jan. 6 unravel on TV.

Before the attack on the Capitol, Trump had encouraged his supporters to march to where Congress was convening to certify his defeat by Joe Biden. Trump later told the rioters to leave and spoke out against the violence but also tweeted, “These are the things and events that happen” and said to the rioters directly, in a video recorded from the White House, “Go home, we love you.”

DeSantis also talks campaign spending

While the governor remains the No. 2 most popular candidate in the GOP primary, according to early polls analyzed by FiveThirtyEight, he has persistently trailed Trump by double digits.

Last week, ABC News reported that according to sources, DeSantis’ campaign had cut about a dozen staffers with more shakeups expected soon.

Sources said the campaign decided to cut costs — as the DeSantis camp had assessed that it burned through cash too quickly and hired too many people early in the campaign.

DeSantis’ campaign reported a second-quarter fundraising haul of roughly $20 million but burned through nearly $8 million in the first six weeks of his White House bid, according to his official filing.

ABC News’ Rachel Scott asked DeSantis on Tuesday if his campaign grew too big, too fast.

“No,” he said.

“When you start, there are certain investments that you make. We really believe having an important apparatus on the ground is important in caucus states and then early states, also making investment and really growing the ability to attract more supporters, financially and all that. And so that’s just kind of what you need to do,” he said.

“You hear some of these narratives. It’s like, good lord, how do you spend in the second quarter? … Trump spent more than we did,” he continued.

“So I think that we’ve done very, very well,” DeSantis maintained. “We’re continuing to do very well. … But at the end of the day, it’s what are you doing on the ground and in places like Iowa and New Hampshire that really, really important.”

He told Rachel Scott that he believes his campaign will continue to build “momentum.”

“I think most of you saw we were in Iowa last weekend. There’s a lot of great stuff going on the ground for us there. … And so we’re just going to continue building that momentum there.”

“It’s a state-by-state process,” he said, “and doing well in those states makes a huge difference.”

DeSantis brushed off a question by another reporter on whether his campaign can make it to the South Carolina primary later into the calendar next year.

“I don’t think we will have very many candidates by then,” he said, “but we will certainly be one of them.”

DeSantis’ staffing changes come amid a reported change in media strategy for the campaign, which had believed DeSantis could continue shunning mainstream media outlets and sticking to more friendly platforms like Fox News and conservative news media — but as ABC News reported last week, sources said the governor’s team has begun leaning toward having DeSantis begin doing mainstream network interviews and possibly town halls.

CNN’s Jake Tapper will interview him on Tuesday afternoon.

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

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