A total of seven categories of offenses are listed in the indictment, Trump is charged with 37 crimes. Investigators are focusing on more than 300 classified documents that Trump took from the White House to his private Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after his term ended in January 2021.
Charges include conspiracy to obstruct investigations and unlawfully withholding highly classified information, including details of US and foreign nuclear capabilities and US military contingency plans. It is the first time that a federal indictment has been filed against a former US president.
Secret documents shown to others
“Trump kept his boxes of confidential documents in various locations at the Mar-a-Lago Club, including a ballroom, a bathroom with shower, an office, his bedroom and a storage room,” the indictment said. A document storage room of over 80 boxes was easily accessible through a public pool area. Corresponding photos were attached to the indictment.
According to the prosecution, boxes with confidential documents were also stored in a bathroom.
In at least two cases, Trump also showed secret documents to others. An audio recording apparently played a key role in the prosecution. In the 2021 recordings, Trump reportedly admitted that he took secret information to his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate after leaving the White House, as several US media outlets reported on Friday with reference to a transcript. available.
“As president, I could have lifted the secrecy, but now I can’t,” he said to CNN, quoting the former president of the United States. The recording is particularly explosive because Trump has repeatedly stated in the past that classified information was no longer classified once it was taken to Mar-a-Lago. The recording could undermine Trump’s argument.
Iran secret document talk
According to ABC, the audio recording was of an interview related to a book project. According to the New York Times (“NYT”), Trump met with several people who helped his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, write memoirs. As the newspaper further reported, the recorded conversation was about a secret Pentagon document about an attack on Iran.
Trump is said to have blocked the investigations
In the case of secret government documents that former US President Donald Trump allegedly kept at home, the indictment is already available. It also mentions a conspiracy to obstruct the investigation.
Media reported last week, citing informed circles, that investigators found a recording from the summer of 2021 in which Trump admitted to possession of a classified Pentagon document. The audio recording is “among the evidence leading to indictment by a Miami federal court,” according to the Washington Post.
Investigations also against Trump confidants
To actively obstruct the investigation, Trump conspired with his personal assistant Walt Nauta, against whom allegations were also brought. Among other things, Trump instructed the employee to take the boxes elsewhere, according to the indictment. He would have suggested to a lawyer that he hide or destroy documents.
In May 2022 – that is, before the FBI searched his property – Trump reportedly spoke with his lawyers about the classified documents. He is said to have said, “Wouldn’t it be better if we told them we have nothing here?” And: “Isn’t it better if there are no documents?”
new lawyer
As also announced on Friday, two of Trump’s lawyers resigned shortly after the indictment. John Rowley and Jim Trusty surprisingly announced on Friday that they had informed Trump of their move in the morning. Nothing is known about the reasons. “Trump has announced a new team of lawyers,” reports US broadcaster NBC. It was an honor to defend Trump last year, the two lawyers said in a statement.
AP attorney/Yuki Iwamura Blanche to represent Trump
According to US media reports, Trump hired attorney Todd Blanche to lead the defense. Blanche recently joined Trump’s legal team and has represented, among others, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Trump sees himself as a victim
Trump himself announced on Thursday night that he had been charged in the course of the secret documents case. In the polls, he is way ahead of the field of Republican presidential candidates. He described the charges against him as “election interference at the highest level”.
Trump again accused Democrats and US President Joe Biden, who is running for a second term in 2024, of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt against him to prevent him returning to the White House.
debate
Where is the US going?
After Trump officially announced in November that he would run again in the 2024 election, the Justice Department used independent special counsel Jack Smith to outsource the politically sensitive investigation into Trump. Smith promised a speedy trial in Washington on Friday and urged the public to read the full indictment to understand the “scope and gravity” of the crimes.
So far, the Republican Party establishment has supported Trump and accused Biden of using the judiciary as a weapon. Only internal party rivals Christ Christie and Asa Hutchinson, who are running against Trump for the presidential candidacy, have verbally attacked the former president.
the next steps
According to a lawyer, Trump is due to appear before a judge in federal court in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday. He got a subpoena, not a warrant. The accused is formally informed of the charges made against him and usually has the opportunity to plead “not guilty” or “guilty”, for example.
In this appointment, the judge also decides whether the accused will be detained until the start of the trial – for example, if there is a risk of flight or danger to the general public. According to experts, this cannot be assumed in the present case. The judge then sets the next court dates. A topic of conversation in this context is that Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, was apparently assigned the case.