Donald Trump accused in classified documents case

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By George Bowden, BBC News, Washington, D.C., June 9, 2023

Updated 22 minutes ago

Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted for handling classified documents after leaving the White House.

US media reported that Mr Trump, 76, faces seven charges including the unauthorized keeping of classified files, but more details are unclear.

This is the second indictment against Trump and the first federal indictment of a former president.

Campaigning for a stunning return to the White House in 2024.

In a post on the Truth Social website, Trump said he is innocent and has been arraigned in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.

“I never thought something like this could happen to a former president of the United States,” he wrote.

He added, “This is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. We are a country in dangerous and rapid decline, but together we will make America great again!”

CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, quoted a source as saying the indictment is linked to the documents case and includes multiple counts.

Other US media, including CNN and ABC News, said the indictment includes at least seven counts.

The indictment enables the suspect to be tried for the crimes with which he is charged.

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Watch: How much do you know about classified documents?

The Justice Department declined to comment and has not released the indictment.

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has been studying the evidence in the documents case since he was appointed to oversee it by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November.

Last year, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida resort was searched and 11,000 documents were seized, including about 100 that were designated classified. Some of these are classified as top secret.

It was reported last week that prosecutors obtained an audio recording of Trump in which he acknowledged keeping a confidential document after he left the White House.

It is against US law for federal officials, even the President, to remove classified documents or to keep them in an unauthorized location.

Smith, a former war crimes attorney known as a tenacious investigator, is overseeing a separate investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which Trump lost.

Trump became the first former president to be charged with a crime in April, after he pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records over silent payments to a porn star.

He faces trial in that case in New York next year.

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