UPDATED 4:56 A.M. (6/9)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump faces a new legal challenge – this time from the government he used to lead – with charges for illegally retaining classified documents and other crimes expected to be filed next week in federal court in Miami.
The indictment of a former U.S. president on federal charges is unprecedented in American history, a case made more extraordinary by the fact that Trump is also the front-runner of his party for the Republican presidential nomination next year.
Trump faces seven criminal counts related to his treatment of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Investigators seized roughly 13,000 documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, nearly a year ago. One hundred were marked as classified, even though one of Trump’s lawyers had previously said all records with classified markings had been returned to the government.
Trump has previously said he declassified those documents while president, but his attorneys have declined to make that argument in court filings.
“I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, after he announced that he had been indicted.
Trump lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN those charges include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and illegally retaining classified documents under the Espionage Act. He said he expects to see the charging document by Tuesday, when Trump is due in court.
Trump is the first current or former president to face criminal charges.
It is the second criminal case for Trump, currently the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election. He is due to go on trial in New York next March in a state case stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star.
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Trump’s legal woes have not dented his popularity with Republican voters, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. His main rivals have so far lined up behind him to criticize the case as politically motivated.
Trump served as president from 2017 to 2021, and he has shown an uncanny ability to weather controversies that might torpedo other politicians. He describes himself as the victim of a witch hunt and accuses the Justice Department of partisan bias.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is heading the investigation, is also leading a second criminal probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
He has been given a degree of independence from Justice Department leadership to pursue the politically sensitive cases.
Trump also faces a separate criminal probe in Georgia related to efforts to overturn his loss to Biden in that state.
Smith convened grand juries in both Washington and Miami to hear evidence, but has opted bring the case in the politically competitive state of Florida, rather than the U.S. capital, where any jury would likely be heavily Democratic.
Legal experts say that could head off a drawn-out legal challenge from Trump’s team over the proper venue.
Trump is not the only top government official to draw scrutiny for retaining classified documents.
Attorneys for Biden and for Trump’s then-vice president, Mike Pence, have said the Justice Department is also looking into their handling of sensitive papers they retained after leaving office.
Biden’s documents dated back to his tenure in the U.S. Senate and as vice president. The Justice Department last week closed its investigation into Pence without filing any charges.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Lincoln Feast.)
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UPDATED 7:17 P.M.
(Reuters) -Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury for retaining classified government documents and obstruction of justice, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The criminal case, brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, amounts to another legal setback for Trump as he seeks to regain the U.S. presidency next year. He already faces a criminal case in New York that is due to go to trial in March.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump wrote that he had been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday.
Trump’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Justice Department official who is handling the investigation, declined to comment.
Trump faces seven criminal counts in the federal case, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Reuters could not immediately learn what specific charges Trump is facing. In a sworn statement to a federal court last year, an FBI agent said there was probable cause to believe several crimes were committed, including obstruction and the illegal retention of sensitive defense records.
The Justice Department has been investigating whether Trump mishandled classified documents he retained after leaving the White House in 2021.
Investigators seized roughly 13,000 documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, nearly a year ago. One hundred were marked as classified, even though one of Trump’s lawyers had previously said all records with classified markings had been returned to the government.
Trump has previously defended his retention of documents, suggesting he declassified them while president. However, Trump has not provided evidence of this and his attorneys have declined to make that argument in court filings.
It marks the second time that Trump, the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges, has been indicted.
In April, he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records relating to hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election.
President from 2017 to 2021, Trump is the front-runner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Through the years Trump has shown an uncanny ability to weather controversies that might torpedo other politicians. He describes himself as the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt and accuses the Justice Department of partisan bias.
Trump’s lead has grown over his rivals in the Republican nominating contest since he was indicted in the New York case, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows.
Trump also faces a second federal criminal investigation into efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additional reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Christopher Cushing and Daniel Wallis)
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(Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media on Thursday that the Biden administration has informed his attorneys that he has been indicted.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump wrote that he had been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday.
He did not provide evidence. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the details. Trump’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
This story may be updated.
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