A controversial court document contains fierce allegations against former President Donald Trump, who faces 37 counts of alleged federal crimes related to the improper handling of classified documents he kept in the bathrooms, ballrooms and other corners of his Mar-a-Lago estate became.
According to the indictment, Trump allegedly instructed his attorneys to withhold information from the Justice Department, suggesting they were “picking” harmful classified documents.
It also reveals a bombastic retelling of a conversation in which Trump showed his aides a highly sensitive military “plan of attack” document that had been given to the former president by a senior military official.
The indictment goes on to allege that Trump ordered his closest associates to lie, admitted that some of the documents in his possession were in fact not declassified, and more. The former president is expected to appear in federal court next week in the matter that Special Counsel Jack Smith said on Friday would quickly progress to a “speedy trial.”
breaks down some of the most startling revelations contained in the unsealed document.
Trump “stored his boxes of classified documents … in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room,” according to the indictment, which includes pictures
“Isn’t it better if there are no documents”
“I don’t want anyone looking, I don’t want anyone looking through my boxes, I really don’t want, I don’t want you looking through my boxes,” Trump said in a statement included in the indictment.
“What happens if we don’t respond at all or don’t play along with them?” Trump allegedly said, citing the Justice Department.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” According to the document, Trump is said to have continued.
“Look, isn’t it better if there are no documents?”
Details of top-secret military “plan of attack”
According to the indictment, in July 2021, Trump disclosed a military “plan of attack” to his staff and an outside writer and editor, none of which had security clearance at the time and even though he knew it should not be made public.
“See what I found, that was [the Senior Military Official’s] “When you come up with a plan of attack, read it and just show it…it’s interesting,” Trump said, according to the court document.
“I’ll show you an example.” He said I wanted to attack [Country A ]. Isn’t it amazing? I’ve got a big stack of papers, this thing just showed up. Look – that was him. They presented this to me – it’s confidential, but – they presented this to me. “He was,” the indictment says.
“That totally wins my case, you know,” he continued.
He also admitted that the document he submitted was “strictly confidential”.
“As President, I could have released it,” Trump continued.
“Now I can’t, you know, but that’s still a secret,” admitted the former president.
The indictment also states that in September 2021 at the Bedminster Club, Trump “showed a non-security clearance representative of his political action committee a classified card related to a military operation and told the representative not to show it to her.” deputies.’
He also said the PAC representative “shouldn’t get too close.”
“If there’s something really bad, tear it out”
The indictment includes a passage recounting a conversation between Trump and one of his lawyers, in which the latter appears to have instructed him to throw away “bad” documents.
According to the indictment, Trump “made a funny move like — okay, why don’t you take her to your hotel room and if there’s something really bad in there, take it out.”
“And that was the request he made. “He didn’t say that,” the attorney allegedly said in the recount of the conversation.
Trump suggested his lawyers “hide or destroy” documents.
According to the court document, Trump strongly recommended that his attorneys “hide or destroy documents” required by the March 2022 Florida grand jury subpoena.
Prosecutors write in the indictment that the former president instructed his attorneys to notify the Justice Department that they “did not have” the specific documents listed in the subpoena.
Documents on key allies, including the UK, lay on the bathroom floor
According to the indictment, Trump’s alleged co-conspirator, Nauta, texted another Trump aide with a picture of documents containing classified information.
“I opened the door and found this,” including two photos of the buried documents, at least one of which contained classified documents.
The indictment states that the specific documents are related to intelligence services between the Five Eyes countries.
These countries constitute an “Alliance for Information Sharing” between the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Documents are piled next to a toilet in the ballroom’s bathroom
Trump kept boxes of classified documents all over his home in Mar-a-Lago.
He “stored his boxes of classified documents … in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office room, his bedroom and a closet,” according to the indictment, which includes pictures.
“From January through March 15, 2021, some of Trump’s boxes were stored in the White and Gold Ballroom at the Mar-a-Lago Club, which hosted events and gatherings.” “Trump’s boxes were stacked on the ballroom stage for a time,” it says in the indictment.
11 documents were marked as “top secret”.
According to the indictment, FBI agents seized a total of 75 documents from Mar-a-Lago last August.
Of these, 11 were marked as “Top Secret”, 36 as “Secret” and 28 as “Confidential”.
Nuclear Capability document found
One of the June 2020 top-secret documents contained information “about the nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” the indictment said.
Trump’s advisor lied to the FBI about moving boxes
The indictment alleges that Trump’s White House adviser, Walt Nauta, falsely told the FBI in a May 2022 interview that he was ignorant of Trump’s boxes of classified documents.
When asked directly if he knew where Trump’s boxes were stored, Nauta replied, “I wish I wish I could tell you.” I don’t know. I don’t know – I honestly just don’t know.’
The indictment further states that Nauta brought “approximately 64 boxes” from the storage room to Trump’s residence.
The indictment alleges that Trump’s White House adviser, Walt Nauta, falsely told the FBI in a May 2022 interview that he was ignorant of Trump’s boxes of classified documents
Nauta “actually knew that the boxes at Pine Hall came from the storage room because Nauta herself, with the assistance of Trump Associate 2, brought the boxes from the storage room to Pine Hall,” the indictment states.
“Nauta had observed the detainees and taken them to different locations in the Mar-a-Lago Club,” it continues.
Prosecutors throw back Trump’s previous statements about transparency
Prosecutors write that during the August 2016 campaign, Trump declared: “In my administration, I will enforce all laws protecting confidential information.”
In September 2016, he made another similar statement, saying, “We can’t have anyone in the Oval Office who doesn’t understand the meaning of confidential or confidential.”