The federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate after leaving the White House in 2021, and then scheming and lying to thwart government efforts to recover them
The federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate after leaving the White House in 2021, and then scheming and lying to thwart government efforts to recover them.
Justice Department prosecutors brought 37 felony counts against Trump in the indictment, relying upon photographs from Mar-a-Lago, surveillance video, text messages between staffers, Trump’s own words, those of his lawyers, and other evidence.
An aide and close adviser to Trump, Walt Nauta, was charged as a co-conspirator with six felony counts.
Trump says he is innocent and has decried the criminal case — the second indictment against him in a matter of months — as an attempt by his political opponents to hinder his 2024 campaign. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in Miami.
Here are key takeaways from the indictment unsealed Friday:
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Trump faces 37 felony counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Each of those 31 counts pertains to a specific classified document found at Mar-A-Lago marked “SECRET” or “TOP SECRET.“ Topics covered in the documents included U.S. nuclear weapons, the nuclear capabilities of a foreign country and the military activities or capabilities of other countries.
Other charges include: conspiracy to obstruct justice; corruptly concealing a document or record; concealing a document in a federal investigation; and making false statements.
The conspiracy charges relate to Trump’s alleged attempts to hide documents from his own attorney or federal investigators. The false statement charges stem from Trump causing his attorney to tell the FBI that no more classified documents were at Mar-a-Lago — but then the FBI later found more than 100 documents during an August 2022 search.
The most serious charges against him carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years each, but first-time offenders rarely get anywhere near the maximum sentence and the decision would ultimately be up to the judge.
