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Former President Donald Trump has a week of campaign stops on the calendar as he gears up for another collision with the law — a departure from the lead-up to the first two criminal indictments he faced this year.
Trump had no public official campaign stops in the five days before each of his first two indictments, in New York and Florida. But while the target letter about efforts to overturn the 2020 election sent to the former president on July 16 points to another likely indictment and ensuing arraignment, he has events lined up with supporters right away this time.
On Tuesday, the former president will attend a campaign fundraising event in New Orleans, with tickets going for $23,200 per person/per couple. On Friday, Trump will speak at the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner alongside most other 2024 GOP presidential candidates. And on Saturday, the former president will host his first rally in battleground Pennsylvania since announcing his reelection bid.
Trump is also leveraging the specter of an indictment in his fundraising tactics. A fundraising email paid for by a group affiliated with his campaign included this statement in an email to potential donors on Monday: “Any day now, the Biden Department of Justice may INDICT and ARREST me once again as an innocent man.”
The Trump campaign told NBC News it doesn’t intend to stop the campaign schedule this week. People who receive target letters in federal investigations are often, but not always, indicted.
“He has a robust schedule this week with trips to Iowa and Pennsylvania, and nothing will deter or distract, not even Joe Biden’s weaponized Justice department, from returning to the White House,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said.