Photo: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
Trump himself announced the indictment on his social media site Truth Social Thursday evening, denying wrongdoing in the process.
On Friday afternoon, the historic 38-count indictment was unsealed, providing further detail on what special counsel Jack Smith uncovered during his exhaustive probe — plus a Trump aide’s alleged role.
The indictment comes after theFBI conducted a searchat the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8 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 property15 boxes of documentsthat should have been handed over at the end of the Trump presidency.
Update: The liveblog has ended.
What Trump’s Charges Could Mean If He’s Convicted and SentencedJune 09, 2023 04:24 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostEach of the charges against former President Donald Trump carry potential prison sentences, with the obstruction charges carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years per count. Violating the Espionage Act carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years, and both the conspiracy and false statements charges carry sentences of up to five years per offense.Still, Trump is innocent until proven guilty, as special counsel Jack Smith made clear in his press conference, and would need to be convicted before he faces any prison time or fines.
What Trump’s Charges Could Mean If He’s Convicted and Sentenced
June 09, 2023 04:24 PM EDT
Each of the charges against former President Donald Trump carry potential prison sentences, with the obstruction charges carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years per count. Violating the Espionage Act carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years, and both the conspiracy and false statements charges carry sentences of up to five years per offense.
Still, Trump is innocent until proven guilty, as special counsel Jack Smith made clear in his press conference, and would need to be convicted before he faces any prison time or fines.
On Truth Social, Trump Claims Boxes Contained ‘Newspapers’ Not FilesJune 09, 2023 04:16 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostTrump has taken to Truth Social to claim that the boxes that fell on the floor in a storage room at Mar-a-Lago (see update below) were merely full of “newspapers.”“The Box on the floor which was opened (who opened it?) clearly shows there was no ‘documents,’ but rather newspapers, personal pictures, etc. WITCH HUNT!” Trump wrote.According to the indictment, however, there were 75 classified documents found in Trump’s storage room, including 11 marked top secret (the highest classified marking), 36 marked secret and 28 marked classified.The photo Trump is referring to does appear to show newspapers and printed photographs spread across the floor — among other papers.A toppled box in a Mar-a-Lago storage room allegedly containing classified documents.US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
On Truth Social, Trump Claims Boxes Contained ‘Newspapers’ Not Files
June 09, 2023 04:16 PM EDT
Trump has taken to Truth Social to claim that the boxes that fell on the floor in a storage room at Mar-a-Lago (see update below) were merely full of “newspapers.”
“The Box on the floor which was opened (who opened it?) clearly shows there was no ‘documents,’ but rather newspapers, personal pictures, etc. WITCH HUNT!” Trump wrote.According to the indictment, however, there were 75 classified documents found in Trump’s storage room, including 11 marked top secret (the highest classified marking), 36 marked secret and 28 marked classified.
The photo Trump is referring to does appear to show newspapers and printed photographs spread across the floor — among other papers.
A toppled box in a Mar-a-Lago storage room allegedly containing classified documents.US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Memos from 7 U.S. Intelligence Agencies Were Among Improperly Stored DocumentsJune 09, 2023 03:57 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostThe indictment details that Trump retained classified documents originating from seven intelligence agencies — including the CIA, NSA, and Department of Defense.Documents about some of the most sensitive topics were stored in “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, [Trump’s] bedroom, and a storage room,” all at Mar-a-Lago.For two months after Trump left office, dozens of boxes of documents were stored in Mar-a-Lago’s White and Gold Ballroom, which was regularly the host of large-scale events (a photograph in the indictment, seen below, shows the boxes stacked on the ballroom’s stage).Boxes containing documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockDocuments were also kept in a storage closet. Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal aide who now faces charges as well, at one point discovered that some of the boxes of classified files stored there had toppled over, revealing one document labeled, “SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY,” which denoted that the information in the document was releasable only to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.According to the indictment, Nauta texted another Mar-a-Lago employee two photos of the toppled documents, writing: “I opened the door and found this…” The unnamed employee wrote back: “Oh no oh no,” and “I’m sorry potus had my phone.”
Memos from 7 U.S. Intelligence Agencies Were Among Improperly Stored Documents
June 09, 2023 03:57 PM EDT
The indictment details that Trump retained classified documents originating from seven intelligence agencies — including the CIA, NSA, and Department of Defense.
Documents about some of the most sensitive topics were stored in “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, [Trump’s] bedroom, and a storage room,” all at Mar-a-Lago.
For two months after Trump left office, dozens of boxes of documents were stored in Mar-a-Lago’s White and Gold Ballroom, which was regularly the host of large-scale events (a photograph in the indictment, seen below, shows the boxes stacked on the ballroom’s stage).
Boxes containing documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Documents were also kept in a storage closet. Walt Nauta, Trump’s personal aide who now faces charges as well, at one point discovered that some of the boxes of classified files stored there had toppled over, revealing one document labeled, “SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY,” which denoted that the information in the document was releasable only to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
According to the indictment, Nauta texted another Mar-a-Lago employee two photos of the toppled documents, writing: “I opened the door and found this…” The unnamed employee wrote back: “Oh no oh no,” and “I’m sorry potus had my phone.”
Trump Allegedly Told His Attorneys to Lie to the FBI (and Lied to His Attorneys)
June 09, 2023 03:45 PM EDT
Trump also allegedly had his personal valet, Walt Nauta (see earlier updates), move classified documents to hide them from the FBI and his own attorneys.
According to the indictment, Trump directed Nauta “to move boxes of documents to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury.”
Trump also said, according to the attorney, “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here? … Well look isn’t it better if there are no documents?”
Elsewhere in the indictment, the same attorney details how he asked Trump whether he should take one of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and place it in a safe at his hotel room. Trump, the attorney told investigators, “made a funny motion as though – well okay why don’t you take them with you to your hotel room and if there’s anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out. And that was the motion that he made. He didn’t say that.”
A Member of Trump’s PAC Was Shown a Classified Military Map, Indictment SaysJune 09, 2023 03:32 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostThe indictment alleges that, in the fall of 2021, 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 person that he should not be showing it to them.During that meeting, Trump “commented that an ongoing military operation in Country B was not going well” and them “showed the PAC Representative a classified map of Country B and told the PAC Representative that he should not be showing the map to the PAC Representative and to not get too close.”According to the indictment, the PAC representative “did not have a security clearance or any need-to-know classified information about the military operation.”
A Member of Trump’s PAC Was Shown a Classified Military Map, Indictment Says
June 09, 2023 03:32 PM EDT
The indictment alleges that, in the fall of 2021, 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 person that he should not be showing it to them.
During that meeting, Trump “commented that an ongoing military operation in Country B was not going well” and them “showed the PAC Representative a classified map of Country B and told the PAC Representative that he should not be showing the map to the PAC Representative and to not get too close.”
According to the indictment, the PAC representative “did not have a security clearance or any need-to-know classified information about the military operation.”
Trump Allegedly Showed a U.S. ‘Plan of Attack’ to 4 People Without Security Clearances
June 09, 2023 03:25 PM EDT
Documents seized when a search warrant was executed at Mar-a-Lago last year.JOSE ROMERO/US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/AFP via Getty Images
From the indictment: “Trump stated, ‘Look what I found, this was [a Senior Military Official’s] plan of attack, read it and just show . . . it’s interesting.” Trump went on to tell the individuals that the plan was, “like, highly confidential” and added: “as president I could have declassified it … Now I can’t, but this is still a secret.”
CNN earlier reported that prosecutors investigating the case reportedly accessed a July 2021 recording of the former presidentacknowledging that he retained a classified Pentagon documentabout a potential attack on Iran.
Special Counsel Jack Smith Says He’ll Seek a ‘Speedy Trial’June 09, 2023 03:13 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostSpecial counsel Jack Smith hopes for a “speedy trial” in the investigation into Trump during a Friday afternoon press conference.“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people,” Smith said during a Friday afternoon press conference. “Our laws that protect National Defense Information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced.”Smith added that “violations of those laws put our country at risk," saying: “We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone.”He also reminded that every American is presumed innocent until proven guilty.Special counsel Jack Smith.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
Special Counsel Jack Smith Says He’ll Seek a ‘Speedy Trial’
June 09, 2023 03:13 PM EDT
Special counsel Jack Smith hopes for a “speedy trial” in the investigation into Trump during a Friday afternoon press conference.
“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people,” Smith said during a Friday afternoon press conference. “Our laws that protect National Defense Information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced.”
Smith added that “violations of those laws put our country at risk," saying: “We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone.”
He also reminded that every American is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Special counsel Jack Smith.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
Earlier Today, President Joe Biden Weighed In: ‘No Comment At All’June 09, 2023 03:06 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostWhile we wait for special counsel Jack Smith to deliver a statement: President Joe Biden gave as much of a weigh-in as we’re likely to get on the indictment, telling reporters, “I have absolutely no comment at all” when asked his thoughts.Immediately after Trump learned that an indictment was coming, he pinned the blame on Biden himself, chalking the charges up to election interference (Biden and Trumpappear likely to have a rematchfor the White House in 2024).“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoard, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.Biden has kept a decisive distance from the Justice Department’s investigations into Trump. On Friday, NBC News’ Kyle Griffintweeted, “The White House had no advance notice about Donald Trump’s indictment and learned about it via media reports, according to a White House official.”
Earlier Today, President Joe Biden Weighed In: ‘No Comment At All’
June 09, 2023 03:06 PM EDT
While we wait for special counsel Jack Smith to deliver a statement: President Joe Biden gave as much of a weigh-in as we’re likely to get on the indictment, telling reporters, “I have absolutely no comment at all” when asked his thoughts.
Immediately after Trump learned that an indictment was coming, he pinned the blame on Biden himself, chalking the charges up to election interference (Biden and Trumpappear likely to have a rematchfor the White House in 2024).
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoard, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Biden has kept a decisive distance from the Justice Department’s investigations into Trump. On Friday, NBC News’ Kyle Griffintweeted, “The White House had no advance notice about Donald Trump’s indictment and learned about it via media reports, according to a White House official.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith Prepares to Deliver Remarks
June 09, 2023 02:59 PM EDT
Walt Nauta Allegedly Conspired with Trump to Conceal DocumentsJune 09, 2023 02:57 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostWalt Nauta appears to also be in hot water. The Trump aide is charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, with the indictment alleging he conspired with the former president “to engage in misleading conduct toward another person and corruptly persuade another person to withhold a record, document, and other object from an official proceeding.“Nauta has also been charged with one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Walt Nauta Allegedly Conspired with Trump to Conceal Documents
June 09, 2023 02:57 PM EDT
Walt Nauta appears to also be in hot water. The Trump aide is charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, with the indictment alleging he conspired with the former president “to engage in misleading conduct toward another person and corruptly persuade another person to withhold a record, document, and other object from an official proceeding.”
Nauta has also been charged with one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Trump’s Charges Include Violating the 1917 Espionage ActJune 09, 2023 02:46 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostThese are Trump’s charges: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information (a violation of the Espionage Act); one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Trump’s Charges Include Violating the 1917 Espionage Act
June 09, 2023 02:46 PM EDT
These are Trump’s charges: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information (a violation of the Espionage Act); one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Trump’s Valet Turned Aide Is Indicted as ‘Co-Conspirator’June 09, 2023 02:39 PM EDTCopy The Link To This Blog PostWalt Nauta follows Donald Trump as they board his plane in March 2023.Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesWaltine “Walt” Nauta, a U.S. Navy veteran and longtime aide to the former president,is also charged in the indictment, on six counts. According to the indictment, Nauta packed “packed items, including some of Trump’s boxes,” as he was preparing to leave the White House and move to Mar-a-Lago. “Trump was personally involved in this process,” the indictment adds, and caused “hundreds of classified documents to be transported from the White House to The Mar-a-Lago Club.”
Trump’s Valet Turned Aide Is Indicted as ‘Co-Conspirator’
June 09, 2023 02:39 PM EDT
Walt Nauta follows Donald Trump as they board his plane in March 2023.Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Waltine “Walt” Nauta, a U.S. Navy veteran and longtime aide to the former president,is also charged in the indictment, on six counts. According to the indictment, Nauta packed “packed items, including some of Trump’s boxes,” as he was preparing to leave the White House and move to Mar-a-Lago. “Trump was personally involved in this process,” the indictment adds, and caused “hundreds of classified documents to be transported from the White House to The Mar-a-Lago Club.”
The Historic 38-Count Indictment Is Unsealed
June 09, 2023 02:32 PM EDT
One of the 38 counts included in the indictment only applied to Trump’s alleged “co-conspirator,” explaining why he has one count fewer than the indictment itself.
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source: people.com
