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| Trump charged under Espionage Act in secret documents case | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Watch: 'Violations of those laws put our country at risk' | |
| Watch: 'Violations of those laws put our country at risk' | |
| Former President Donald Trump has been charged with mishandling hundreds of classified files, including about US nuclear weapons and military plans. | |
| The 37-count indictment accuses him of keeping the documents at his Florida estate, including in a ballroom and bathroom, and lying to investigators. | |
| The charge sheet lists 31 counts of wilful retention of national defence information under the Espionage Act. | |
| Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, denies any wrongdoing. | |
| He is due to make a first court appearance in the case at a court in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday - the eve of his 77th birthday. | |
| The 49-page indictment contains the first ever federal charges against a former US president. It says Mr Trump was "personally involved" in the process of moving documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, his home in Palm Beach which is also a private members' club. | |
| Live updates | Live updates |
| Could Donald Trump go to prison? | Could Donald Trump go to prison? |
| Is this indictment a threat to Trump's 2024 campaign? | Is this indictment a threat to Trump's 2024 campaign? |
| The charge sheet notes that Mar-a-Lago hosted events for tens of thousands of members and guests. | |
| The indictment reads: "The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and to plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack." | The indictment reads: "The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and to plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack." |
| Files were stored in a ballroom at Donald Trump's Florida property, Mar-a-Lago | |
| Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago club "was not an authorised location" for the "storage, possession, review, display or discussion" of classified documents, the indictment says. | Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago club "was not an authorised location" for the "storage, possession, review, display or discussion" of classified documents, the indictment says. |
| Some of the files were allegedly stored on stage in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom, where events and gatherings took place, and later in a bathroom and shower, an office space, and Mr Trump's bedroom. | |
| The boxes - which contained some files from the CIA and National Security Agency - were moved in May 2021 to a storage room that could be reached from the Mar-a-Lago pool patio through a doorway that was often kept open, says the indictment. | |
| On two occasions in 2021, the former president showed classified documents to others who did not have security clearance, including a writer and two members of staff. | On two occasions in 2021, the former president showed classified documents to others who did not have security clearance, including a writer and two members of staff. |
| At his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, he displayed and described a "plan of attack" that he said had been prepared for him by the Defence Department. | |
| "As president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," Mr Trump allegedly said, according to an audio recording. | "As president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," Mr Trump allegedly said, according to an audio recording. |
| Watch: 'I did nothing wrong. We'll fight this out.' | Watch: 'I did nothing wrong. We'll fight this out.' |
| Watch: 'I did nothing wrong. We'll fight this out.' | Watch: 'I did nothing wrong. We'll fight this out.' |
| The second time the indictment states that Mr Trump displayed classified documents to others was in August or September 2021 at the Bedminster club. | |
| The former US president "showed a representative of his political action committee who did not possess a security clearance a classified map". | The former US president "showed a representative of his political action committee who did not possess a security clearance a classified map". |
| This map "related to a military operation" and Mr Trump told the representative that "he should not be showing it" to them and they "should not get too close". | |
| The indictment says Mr Trump tried to obstruct the FBI inquiry by suggesting that his lawyer "hide or destroy" the documents, or tell investigators that the former president did not have them. | |
| "Wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here?" Mr Trump said to one of his attorneys, according to the indictment. | |
| The indictment included images of files stored in a shower | |
| Mr Trump's personal aide at Mar-a-Lago, Waltine Nauta, is also charged with six counts. The indictment says the former White House military valet moved files to hide them from the FBI. | |
| Prosecutors say Mr Trump took about 300 classified files to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House. | |
| About 100 of those - some labelled top secret - were among thousands of files seized when the FBI searched the Palm Beach mansion last August. | |
| Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the investigation, said in a statement on Friday from his office in Washington DC: "We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone." | |
| In a social media post, Mr Trump blasted Mr Smith as a "deranged lunatic". | |
| "He is a Trump Hater - a deranged 'psycho' that shouldn't be involved in any case having to do with 'Justice,'" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. | |
| Mr Trump pointed out that classified files were also found in President Joe Biden's former office and Delaware home, including in his garage. | |
| The White House has previously said it immediately co-operated with officials as soon as those files were discovered, whereas Mr Trump allegedly sought to obstruct investigators. | |
| Mr Biden has not been charged. | |
| Shortly before the justice department made the criminal charges public, two of Mr Trump's lawyers quit the case without much explanation, saying this was a "logical moment" to resign. | |
| This is the second criminal case for Mr Trump, who is due to go on trial in New York next year in a state case involving a hush-money payment to a porn star. | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Indictments of Donald Trump | |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| United States | United States |