Donald Trump’s indictment relating to his handling of classified documents was unsealed Friday.
The federal indictment marks the first time a former president has been federally charged. Trump announced Thursday the DOJ had notified him of his indictment. On Friday, the former president said the DOJ had indicted his aide, Walt Nauta, who is alleged to have moved boxes around at Mar-a-Lago after Trump was issued a subpoena to return all classified documents.
The charges against Trump include 31 counts of alleged violation of the Espionage Act, or the willful retention of national security information, as well as one count of “conspiracy to obstruct justice;” one count of “withholding a document or record;” one count of corruptly concealing a document or record;” one count of “concealing a document in a deferral investigation;” one count of “scheme to conceal;” and one count of “false statements and representations.” (RELATED: Donald Trump Announces Major Shakeup In Legal Defense)
The 37-count indictment alleges Trump retained documents in boxes including “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 plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
The FBI seized 102 documents from Mar-a-Lago during their search of the property in August, the indictment read. The unsealed document also featured images of the boxes Trump held at Mar-a-Lago in various locations around the property.
The indictment, consisting of 49 pages, also said that Trump showed classified documents to two affiliates in 2021. In July of 2021, Trump showed a “plan of attack” to a writer, a publisher and two staffers, which he said was prepared for him by the Department of Defense (DOD), the indictment alleges. At the time, Trump allegedly said, “as president, I could have declassified it,” and “now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
The indictment also alleges Trump showed a “classified map” to a member of his political action committee and told him he should not be showing it to him.
Trump is expected to be arraigned in Miami on Tuesday.
He has claimed he is innocent and said that the Biden administration is engaged in the “greatest witch hunt of all time.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
