[ad_1]
For the first time in American history, a former president has been charged with a federal crime. Donald Trump said Thursday night that his lawyers have been informed by the Justice Department that he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, and confirmed it shortly after with a lawyer. Trump is under investigation for alleged violations of the Espionage Act that governs classified information, among other laws.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that his lawyers had informed him that he had been indicted. pic.twitter.com/dwzNHvX1jH
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 8, 2023
In a long, dimly lit video posted on Truth Social Trump called the accusation, election interference at the highest level, and insisted, I’m an innocent man, I’ve done nothing wrong, and fight it well like we have been fighting for seven years.
On Tuesday, Trumps lawyers told a meeting with Justice Department officials that their client is a target of Special Counsel Jack Smiths probe is the surest sign that the former president will face criminal charges for his alleged efforts ‘y hinder the government’s efforts to hold. return the documents. After months of back-and-forth with the Justice Department, FBI agents last summer executed a search warrant at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate, removing reams of documents from a private storage area and in his office, some with marks of the highest level of classification . Trump maintains that he declared the documents before leaving office (although a tape disputes that) and that he is completely innocent, the victim of another witch hunt.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said, I was summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 p.m. This is likely when the indictment is unsealed and the details are detailed to both Trump and the public.
While the indictment was filed under seal, CNN and the New York Times reported that Trump had been indicted on seven counts. Those counts include conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of documents.
Trump puts him in legal jeopardy in uncharted territory. He surpassed all other presidents by being impeached twice and became the first former chief executive to be criminally indicted, first in Manhattan this spring and then by a grand jury in Florida. (Meanwhile, in May, Trump lost a civil lawsuit, brought by E. Jean Carroll, accusing him of sexual harassment and defamation.) More charges could come in Smith’s investigation of Trump’s efforts to stay in power are still developing and a similar investigation by Georgia prosecutors. Only Richard Nixon came close to being indicted when a federal grand jury considered his conduct regarding Watergate, but in the end it didn’t go that far.
Sign Up for the IntelligencerNewsletter
Daily news about the politics, business, and technology that shape our world.
Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice
|
Sources 2/ https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/06/donald-trump-indicted-classified-documents.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
[ad_2]