Espionage Act among charges
Donald Trump has become the first U.S. president, former or otherwise, to be indicted on federal criminal charges.
Trump announced in Thursday night posts on his Truth Social platform that prosecutors had notified his attorneys he had been indicted. NBC News confirmed soon after that he faces seven charges. They include making false statements and conspiracy to obstruct, Trump lawyer James Trusty told CNN on Thursday. The charges also include willfully retaining documents in violation of the Espionage Act, he said.
Trump, the leading contender for the GOP presidential nomination next year, is scheduled to appear Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami. The former president had kept reams of classified documents in boxes at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida until federal agents raided it last year and seized the records.
The ex-president said he's innocent and ripped the case as the "box hoax."
Special counsel Jack Smith has been investigating Trump over the removal of classified documents from the White House after he left office, as well as apparent efforts by Trump and his aides to potentially stymie the government's investigation.
This is the second time Trump has been indicted. Earlier this year, a grand jury in New York indicted Trump on state charges for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to women who said they had sexual trysts with him.
Trump still faces two other criminal probes, as well: Smith's investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol, and an inquiry in Georgia looking into whether he attempted to interfere with the presidential election in that state.
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Source: CNBC
