Details into the indictment accusing former United States President Donald Trump of mishandling classified government documents have been released.
The news of the indictment against Trump broke Thursday evening when Trump took to his Truth Social platform stating that his lawyers had informed him of the charges by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote, referring to the accusation that he retained classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021.
According to the New York Times, Trump has been indicted on seven counts related to the case, including conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of documents.
Trump went on to claim his innocence in the matter, stating he has been summoned to appear at a Miami, Florida courthouse next Tuesday at 3 p.m.
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in another post.
The indictment stems from claims that thousands of documents, considered government property, were shipped from Washington D.C., to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla.
Details from the unsealed indictment sheet released Friday show Trump faces 37 charges relating to national security for allegedly improperly storing, showing off classified documents to those without security clearance and hiding files.
The indictment stated Trump allegedly kept files in various rooms at his Mar-a-Lago Club including a ballroom, a bathroom, a shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room. Documents in the boxes reportedly contained information such as defense and weapons capabilities of both the U.S. and other countries, the U.S. nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilites of America and its allies to military attack, and possible retaliation plans in response to a foreign attack.
Trump is also accused of sharing a classified document with a writer, a publisher, and two of his staff members at which time he allegedly acknowledged that the file was secretive and that he should not be showing it to anyone. The indictment claims one of these conversations was recorded.
Waltine Nauta, Trump’s former personal aide during his presidency, and the second person named in the indictment, has been filed as a co-conspirator. Nauta is accused of moving boxes of documents to hide them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury.
Trump’s lawyers claimed he returned all documents with classified markings however, further probing into the case turned up more files that Trump allegedly failed to return following a subpoena to send back all classified documents months earlier.
The full, 48-page indictment, can be found here.
This is Trump’s second indictment this year and the first time in American history a former president has faced federal charges. He was indicted in Manhattan in April relating to alleged “hush money” payments made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, back in 2016 when Trump was campaigning for the presidency. It was alleged that the married Trump had a sexual affair with Daniels. He is scheduled to go to trial for that case in early 2024.
The former U.S. president, who served from 2017 to 2021, is also seeking to regain presidency again in 2024.
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