The 37-count indictment against former President Donald Trump marks the first time a former president faces federal criminal charges.
The unprecedented federal charges filed against former President Donald Trump in early June are the first step in the legal proceedings that will unfold as Trump mounts his third .
Made public on June 9, the marks the first time in history a former president has been charged by the Justice Department. Trump’s prosecution is the culmination of a nearly by the U.S. government to recover records from his South Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, after his presidency ended in January 2021.
Trump has to all 37 felony counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents and a tentative trial date has been set. But there is still much that will take place before a jury renders its verdict in the case of United States of America vs. Trump.
Here is a timeline of the events that have occurred since Trump was indicted on charges stemming from his handling of sensitive government records: 2023
June 8: A federal grand jury Trump on charges stemming from the investigation into his handling of sensitive government records recovered from Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House.
Trump himself announces that he was informed of the indictment in a trio of posts to his account on Truth Social and proclaims that he is an „innocent man.“
The charges are the first to arise from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of government records recovered from Mar-a-Lago after his presidency concluded.
June 9: The indictment filed against Trump is , detailing the charges the former president is facing. The document lists 37 felony violations:
31 counts of willful retention of national defense information
1 count of conspiracy to obstruct justice
1 count of withholding a document or record
1 count of corruptly concealing document or record
1 count of concealing a document in a federal investigation
1 count of scheme to conceal
1 count of making false statements and representations
At least four of the charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The indictment names Waltine „Walt“ Nauta, an aide to Trump who served as a White House valet, as a co-conspirator in five of the counts, and charged him individually with making false statements.
The indictment alleges that Trump „endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal retention of classified documents,“ and says the classified documents Trump kept in boxes at Mar-a-Lago included information about defense and weapons capabilities of both the U.S. and foreign countries, as well as U.S. nuclear programs.
The filing includes colored photos showing stacks of boxes that were stored in different rooms around Mar-a-Lago at various times, including on stage in a ballroom, in a bathroom next to a shower and toilet, and in a storage room.
