Nearly two years before Donald Trump’s indictment for mishandling classified records, federal prosecutors say he was showing off “highly confidential” military plans to guests at his New Jersey summer home. At the same time, prosecutors say, the former president was ignoring demands from the National Archives and Records Administration that he turn over his presidential records or risk a Justice Department investigation. Amid Trump’s standoff with the federal agency in charge of safeguarding presidential records, the FBI’s searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and found 100 classified documents, prosecutors say, including some kept in an office desk.
The 49-page federal indictment of former President Donald Trump lays out a stunning timeline of events, detailing allegations that he not only mishandled sensitive material, but also took steps to hide records and impede investigators.
Here are some of the key events leading to the 37 criminal charges against Trump, according to the indictment:
Jan. 20, 2021: As Trump leaves the White House, he directs the movement of dozens of storage boxes to Mar-a-Lago, prosecutors say. The boxes, packed by Trump and his White House staff, contain newspaper clippings, letters, photos and other mementos from his time in office, but also hundreds of classified documents that, as a former president, he wasn’t authorized to have.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal, not private property and must be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive documents, including statutes making it a crime to remove such material and keep it at an unauthorized location.
After Jan. 20, 2021: Some boxes brought from the White House are stored on a stage in one of Mar-a-Lago’s gilded ballrooms. A photo in the indictment shows boxes stacked on a stage.
March 15, 2021: Boxes are moved from the ballroom to the business center at Mar-a-Lago.
April 2021: Some boxes are moved into a bathroom and shower. A photo included in the indictment shows them stacked next to a toilet, a vanity and a trash can.
May 2021: Trump directs employees to clean out a storage room in a highly accessible area on Mar-a-Lago’s ground floor so it can be used to store his boxes, the indictment says. Trump also directs that some boxes be brought to his Bedminster, New Jersey, summer residence.
On or about May 6, 2021: Realizing that some documents from Trump’s presidency may be missing, the National Archives asks that he turn over any presidential records he may have kept upon leaving the White House. The agency makes subsequent, repeated demands.
June 2021: The National Archives warns Trump through his representatives that it will refer the matter to the Justice Department if he does not comply.
June 24, 2021: Boxes are moved to the storage room. More than 80 boxes are kept there.
July 21, 2021: Trump allegedly shows a military “plan of attack” that he says is “highly confidential” to a writer interviewing him at his Bedminster property. Trump remarks, “as president I could have declassified it. … Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” according to the indictment, citing a recording of the interview.
August or September 2021: Trump allegedly shows a classified map relating to a foreign military operation to a representative of his political action committee at his Bedminster golf course, the indictment says. Trump tells the person that he shouldn’t be showing anyone the map and that the person shouldn’t get too close.
November 2021: Trump directs his executive assistant and “body man” Walt Nauta and another employee to start moving boxes from a storage room to his residence for him to review. Nauta is charged in the indictment as Trump’s co-conspirator.
Dec. 7, 2021: Nauta finds that several of Trump’s boxes have fallen, spilling papers onto the storage room floor, the indictment says. Among them is a document with a “SECRET” intelligence marking. According to the indictment, Nauta texts another Trump employee, “I opened the door and found this,” to which the other employee replies, “Oh no oh no.”
Late December 2021: The National Archives continues to demand that Trump turn over missing records from his presidency. In late December 2021, a Trump representative tells the agency that 12 boxes of records have been found and are ready to be retrieved.
