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Donald Trump charged with illegal retention of classified documents Donald Trump charged with illegal retention of classified documents
(about 3 hours later)
Twice-impeached ex-president is being prosecuted for violating Espionage Act and obstruction over documents held at Mar-a-Lago Ex-president is being prosecuted for violating Espionage Act and obstruction over documents held at Mar-a-Lago and has been summoned to court next week
Federal prosecutors have charged Donald Trump with violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to obstruct the criminal investigation among other counts, according to a person familiar with the matter, a historic development marking the most significant legal peril yet for the former president.Federal prosecutors have charged Donald Trump with violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to obstruct the criminal investigation among other counts, according to a person familiar with the matter, a historic development marking the most significant legal peril yet for the former president.
The exact nature of the seven-count indictment is unclear because it remains under seal. The exact nature of the seven-count indictment is unclear because it remains under seal and even Trump himself has not yet seen what it says.
At least some of the counts filed in federal district court in Miami by the office of special counsel Jack Smith include the willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, false statements and concealment under title 18 of the US criminal code, the person said. At least some of the counts filed in federal district court in Miami by the office of special counsel Jack Smith include the willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct, false statements and concealment under title 18 of the US criminal code, the person said.
Trump and his legal team were told of the charges on Thursday afternoon. Trump is expected to surrender himself to authorities in Miami on Tuesday at 3pm, the person said, confirming what the former president posted on his Truth Social platform. Speaking on CNN, Trump lawyer Jim Trusty confirmed the charges include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and illegally retaining classified documents under the Espionage Act. He said he expects to see the indictment between now and Tuesday.
Trump, now based at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey for the summer, confirmed on social media that he had been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday. “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The Associated Press reported that the justice department and homeland security were sending additional federal agents to Miami ahead of Trump’s expected court appearance.
US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, the chamber’s top Republican, said on Thursday that the indictment of Donald Trump was a “dark day” for the United States and that he stood with the former President.
“House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable,” he wrote on Twitter.
For more than a year, prosecutors have examined whether Trump knowingly retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he left office and took steps to conceal the materials after the justice department issued a subpoena for their return.For more than a year, prosecutors have examined whether Trump knowingly retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he left office and took steps to conceal the materials after the justice department issued a subpoena for their return.
Criminal charges against Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation means the former president is now a defendant in a second case after he was indicted on state charges in New York by the Manhattan district attorney over his role in hush-money payments to an adult film star in 2016. Investigators seized roughly 13,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago nearly a year ago. One hundred were marked as classified, even though one of Trump’s lawyers had previously said all records with classified markings had been returned to the government.
The indictment by Smith, appointed by the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, to lead the documents investigation, also means the country must grapple with the unprecedented situation of a twice-impeached, twice-charged former president running for re-election. Trump has previously defended his retention of documents, suggesting he declassified them while president. However, Trump has not provided evidence of this and his attorneys have declined to make that argument in court filings.
The news comes after activity in the investigation recently shifted to the Wilkie Ferguson US courthouse in Miami, after prosecutors subpoenaed multiple witnesses to appear before a previously unknown grand jury taking evidence in the case in Florida, the Guardian has reported. Criminal charges against Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation mean the former president is now a defendant in a second case, after he was indicted on state charges in New York by the Manhattan district attorney over his role in hush-money payments to an adult film star in 2016.
Most of the grand jury activity until May had focused on the grand jury hearing evidence in the case in Washington. But that grand jury went quiet at the start of the month, around the same time that the Florida grand jury was impaneled, a person familiar with the situation said. The indictment by Smith also means the country must grapple with the unprecedented situation of a twice-impeached, twice-charged former president running for re-election.
The investigation has broadly been focused on three statutes under title 18 of the US code, according to the FBI’s search warrant affidavit for Mar-a-Lago: willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice and the retention of government documents. The investigation into Trump had appeared to have been complicated by the discovery of documents with classified markings in the Delaware home and former Washington office of president Joe Biden, as well as in the Indiana home of former vice-president Mike Pence. The Justice Department recently informed Pence that he would not face charges, while a second special counsel continues to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents.
But there are key differences in the facts and legal issues surrounding Biden’s and Pence’s handling of documents, including that representatives for both men say the documents were voluntarily turned over to investigators as soon as they were found.
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The espionage investigation has been focused on whether Trump showed off national security materials in his office at Mar-a-Lago, and has questioned multiple witnesses about whether Trump waved around classified documents he had kept when no longer authorized to after he left office. In contrast, investigators quickly zeroed on whether Trump had sought to obstruct the inquiry by refusing to turn over all the requested document
The investigation has broadly been focused on three statutes under title 18 of the US code, according to the FBI’s search warrant affidavit for Mar-a-Lago: willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice and the retention of government documents.
The espionage investigation has been focused on whether Trump showed off national security materials in his office at Mar-a-Lago, and has questioned multiple witnesses about whether Trump waved around classified documents he had kept when no longer authorised to after he left office.
Prosecutors have also asked witnesses about documents concerning potential US military action against Iran, after Trump referenced such a document in a meeting at Bedminster in July 2021 where he said he could not show a certain document because he did not declassify it when president.Prosecutors have also asked witnesses about documents concerning potential US military action against Iran, after Trump referenced such a document in a meeting at Bedminster in July 2021 where he said he could not show a certain document because he did not declassify it when president.
To that end, prosecutors have shown an Iran document to some witnesses who appeared before the Washington grand jury and asked whether they had ever been shown the material by Trump or anyone else. It was not clear whether any witness confirmed seeing the document, one of the people said.To that end, prosecutors have shown an Iran document to some witnesses who appeared before the Washington grand jury and asked whether they had ever been shown the material by Trump or anyone else. It was not clear whether any witness confirmed seeing the document, one of the people said.
The investigation into the obstruction, meanwhile, has focused on whether the failure by Trump to fully comply with the subpoena last year was a deliberate act of obstruction because he wanted to retain the classified documents even after he had left office, the people said.The investigation into the obstruction, meanwhile, has focused on whether the failure by Trump to fully comply with the subpoena last year was a deliberate act of obstruction because he wanted to retain the classified documents even after he had left office, the people said.
Last June, the since-recused Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran found 38 classified documents in the storage room at Mar-a-Lago and told the justice department that no further materials remained there – which came into question when the FBI seized 101 more classified documents months later.Corcoran later told associates he felt misled because he had asked whether he should search elsewhere at Mar-a-Lago, such as Trump’s office, but was waved off, the Guardian first reported. Corcoran’s notes also showed he told Trump he had to return all classified documents in his possession.Last June, the since-recused Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran found 38 classified documents in the storage room at Mar-a-Lago and told the justice department that no further materials remained there – which came into question when the FBI seized 101 more classified documents months later.Corcoran later told associates he felt misled because he had asked whether he should search elsewhere at Mar-a-Lago, such as Trump’s office, but was waved off, the Guardian first reported. Corcoran’s notes also showed he told Trump he had to return all classified documents in his possession.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report