Donald Trump has been indicted on seven counts of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw. (see the full indictment below). The Department of Justice has been investigating whether classified documents from the Trump White House were illegally mishandled when they were taken to his Florida Mar-a-Lago residence after he left office. The indictment includes charges of willful retention of national defense information — a crime under the Espionage Act, which regulates the handling of government secrets — obstruction, false statements and conspiracy. The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if Trump’s convicted. The Justice Department did not immediately confirm the indictment publicly. Trump is due in court Tuesday afternoon in Miami, where a federal grand jury had been hearing testimony as recently as this week.
Prosecutors have said that Trump took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including some 100 that were seized by the FBI last August in a search of the home that underscored the gravity of the Justice Department’s investigation. Trump has repeatedly insisted that he was entitled to keep the classified documents when he left the White House, and has also claimed without evidence that he had declassified them.
Court records unsealed last year showed federal investigators believed they had probable cause that multiple crimes had been committed, including the retention of national defense information, destruction of government records and obstruction.
Since then, the Justice Department has amassed additional evidence and secured grand jury testimony from people close to Trump, including his own lawyers. The statutes governing the handling of classified records and obstruction are felonies that could carry years in prison in the event of a conviction.
Donald Trump continued his string of presidential firsts in our legal system. He was the first president to be impeached twice, the first president to have been charged with a crime, the first president to be found liable for sexual assault by a jury of his peers and now the first president to be indicted of a federal crime.
The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York. The DOJ is separately investigating efforts by Trump and his allies in the January 6 insurrection to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the district attorney in Georgia’s Fulton County is investigating Trump over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election in that state. These also could lead to criminal charges.
As for his 2024 presidential bid, nothing stops Trump from running while indicted, or even convicted.
As expected, House Republicans have rallied around the twice impeached, found to have sexually assaulted a woman and charged for paying hush money to a porn star, Donald Trump..
Today is yet another sad but necessary day for the United States of America and for all Americans. It is a necessary action to prove that in America that no one is above the law.
Takeaways from the indictment
Trump faces a total of 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information. His aide, Walt Nauta, faces six counts, including several obstruction and concealment-related charges stemming from the alleged conduct.
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone applying those laws, collecting facts, that’s what determines the outcome of an investigation,” Smith said in a short appearance in Washington, DC, on Friday. “Nothing more and nothing less.”
The 49-page indictment included new details about how Trump allegedly took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in 2021 and resisted the government’s attempts to retrieve the classified materials. In his statement, Smith encouraged the public to read it “in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.”
Here are the key takeaways from the indictment:
Alleged obstruction separates Trump from Pence and Biden classified doc snafus
Trump showed classified documents to others on two occasions
The documents are extraordinarily sensitive
Pictures are worth 1,000 words
Trump wasn’t charged over classified documents he turned over voluntarily