FEDERAL CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE
Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in June over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, making him the first U.S. president to face federal criminal charges.
The indictment came after the FBI conducted a search at the former president's Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022, as part of a criminal investigation that began after the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) revealed in February 2022 that officials had removed from the property 15 boxes of documents that should have been handed over at the end of the Trump presidency.
But as the indictment lays out, Trump isn't being charged for taking the documents from the White House initially — but for what he allegedly did after federal investigators issued a subpoena for access to those documents.
Donald Trump's Historic Arraignment: A Full Recap, Plus What Comes Next
The indictment details how prosecutors say they have reviewed recordings of Trump bragging about classified documents and admitting that he didn't declassify them. As laid out in the indictment, investigators also have access to notes from at least one of Trump's own attorneys, who claimed the former president worked to hide classified documents from his own legal team, and from the FBI — after he was subpoenaed.
While the former president initially faced 37 counts, the indictment was later revised to include an additional three charges against him.
CHARGE: Willful Retention of National Defense
Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in June over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, making him the first U.S. president to face federal criminal charges.
The indictment came after the FBI conducted a search at the former president's Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022, as part of a criminal investigation that began after the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) revealed in February 2022 that officials had removed from the property 15 boxes of documents that should have been handed over at the end of the Trump presidency.
But as the indictment lays out, Trump isn't being charged for taking the documents from the White House initially — but for what he allegedly did after federal investigators issued a subpoena for access to those documents.
Donald Trump's Historic Arraignment: A Full Recap, Plus What Comes Next
The indictment details how prosecutors say they have reviewed recordings of Trump bragging about classified documents and admitting that he didn't declassify them. As laid out in the indictment, investigators also have access to notes from at least one of Trump's own attorneys, who claimed the former president worked to hide classified documents from his own legal team, and from the FBI — after he was subpoenaed.
While the former president initially faced 37 counts, the indictment was later revised to include an additional three charges against him.
CHARGE: Willful Retention of National Defense
