The Justice Department has unsealed the indictment against Former President Donald Trump dealing with his alleged criminal violations regarding classified government documents. It is a 37-count criminal indictment. It charges violations of the espionage act, obstruction of justice and conspiracy among other violations of law.
Shortly after it was unsealed, Special Counsel Jack Smith made a brief statement at the Department of Justice in Washington during which he explained the significance of Trump having allegedly violated federal laws related to the security of the nation. Smith noted that numerous U.S. citizens have risked their lives to serve the country in the intelligence and security fields.
The indictment alleges, in part: “The classified documents TRUMP stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack. The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”
Among other things, the indictment details two incidents in which Trump shared classified information with people who were not authorized to receive it.
According to the indictment: “In July 2021, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey (“The Bedminster Club”), during an audio-recorded meeting with a writer, a publisher, and two members of his staff, none of whom possessed a security clearance, TRUMP showed and described a ‘plan of attack’ that TRUMP said was prepared for him by the Department of Defense and a senior military official. TRUMP told the individuals that the plan was ‘highly confidential’ and ‘secret.’ TRUMP also said, ‘as president I could have declassified it,’ and, ‘Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.’
“b. In August or September 2021, at The Bedminster Club, TRUMP showed a representative of his political action committee who did not possess a security clearance a classified map related to a military operation and told the representative that he should not be showing it to the representative and that the representative should not get too close.”
With respect to alleged obstruction, the indictment said, in part: “TRUMP endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued retention of classified documents by, among other things:
“a. suggesting that his attorney falsely represent to the FBI and grand jury that TRUMP did not have documents called for by the grand jury subpoena;
“b. directing defendant WALTINE NAUTA to move boxes of documents to conceal them from TRUMP’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury;
“c. suggesting that his attorney hide or destroy documents called for by the grand jury subpoena;
“d. providing to the FBI and grand jury just some of the documents called for by the grand jury subpoena, while claiming that he was cooperating fully; and
“e. causing a certification to be submitted to the FBI and grand jury falsely representing that all documents called for by the grand jury subpoena had been produced while knowing that, in fact, not all such documents had been produced.”
The indictment said that in January 2021, as he was preparing to leave the White House, Trump and his White House staff, including Nauta, packed items, including some of Trump’s boxes.
“TRUMP was personally involved in this process,” the indictment said. “TRUMP caused his boxes, containing hundreds of classified documents, to be transported from the White House to The Mar-a-Lago Club.”
The indictment said that from January through March 15, 2021, some of Trump’s boxes were stored in The Mar-a-Lago Club’s White and Gold Ballroom, in which events and gatherings took place. Trump’s boxes were for a time stacked on the ballroom’s stage.
Trump is due in federal court in Miami on Tuesday for arraignment.
