On Thursday, June 8, 2023, former president Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury on 37 charges, including 31 violations of the Espionage Act. The Department of Justice released the indictment on Friday as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents after his time in office. Additionally, Trump’s aide, Waltine Nauta, faces six charges, some related to obstruction and concealment.
According to the 49-page indictment, the classified records contained information regarding the nuclear capabilities of foreign countries and U.S. military secrets. The indictment details accusations that Trump stored classified records in easily accessible boxes at his Florida estate. Twice in 2021, he showed classified documents to individuals without security clearances, questioned whether he had to comply with an FBI subpoena, and hid several boxes of documents from his lawyers, who were trying to comply with the subpoena
The investigation began after the National Archives found classified records in a batch of documents Trump returned in 2022. The DOJ then sought a subpoena ordering the return of any remaining classified material. In the end, Trump’s legal team returned about three dozen more documents and a letter stating that a diligent search had been conducted.
However, between May 23, the day the subpoena was issued, and June 2 of 2022, when the lawyers could view the documents, Trump had his aide, Walt Nauta, move 64 boxes out of the Mar-a-Lago storage room to Trump’s residence Nauta only returned 30 boxes to the storage.
This was hidden from the lawyers, according to the indictment. The DOJ learned about the possibility that some records were not retrieved, and gained judicial approval for a search warrant. On August 8, 2022, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found more than 100 documents marked as classified. The recovered documents came from the CIA, Department of Defense (DoD), National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of State, and various other sources.
Nauta made many false statements [to the lawyers?], including that he was not unaware of how boxes of documents had ended up at Trump’s residence. [new sentence] He also denied knowing about where boxes were stored before they were found in Trump’s residence. On the other hand, the indictment says that Nauta helped move the boxes to Mar-a-Lago and would move them around the club at Trump’s request. Nauta was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal, and making false statements and representations. In a Truth Social post, Trump said of Nauta, “He has done a fantastic job! They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about ‘Trump.’”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has reaffirmed his innocence. He and his allies have framed the indictment as a politically motivated attack to diminish him as a presidential candidate for 2024.
On June 10, special counsel Smith pledged that his office would “seek a speedy trial on this matter consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused.” Trump has been summoned to appear in court in southern Florida at 3 p.m. ET on June 13, where he will hear the charges against him before a magistrate judge. He is expected to enter a not guilty plea, according to CNN.
According to the 49-page indictment, the classified records contained information regarding the nuclear capabilities of foreign countries and U.S. military secrets. The indictment details accusations that Trump stored classified records in easily accessible boxes at his Florida estate. Twice in 2021, he showed classified documents to individuals without security clearances, questioned whether he had to comply with an FBI subpoena, and hid several boxes of documents from his lawyers, who were trying to comply with the subpoena
The investigation began after the National Archives found classified records in a batch of documents Trump returned in 2022. The DOJ then sought a subpoena ordering the return of any remaining classified material. In the end, Trump’s legal team returned about three dozen more documents and a letter stating that a diligent search had been conducted.
However, between May 23, the day the subpoena was issued, and June 2 of 2022, when the lawyers could view the documents, Trump had his aide, Walt Nauta, move 64 boxes out of the Mar-a-Lago storage room to Trump’s residence Nauta only returned 30 boxes to the storage.
This was hidden from the lawyers, according to the indictment. The DOJ learned about the possibility that some records were not retrieved, and gained judicial approval for a search warrant. On August 8, 2022, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found more than 100 documents marked as classified. The recovered documents came from the CIA, Department of Defense (DoD), National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of State, and various other sources.
Nauta made many false statements [to the lawyers?], including that he was not unaware of how boxes of documents had ended up at Trump’s residence. [new sentence] He also denied knowing about where boxes were stored before they were found in Trump’s residence. On the other hand, the indictment says that Nauta helped move the boxes to Mar-a-Lago and would move them around the club at Trump’s request. Nauta was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal, and making false statements and representations. In a Truth Social post, Trump said of Nauta, “He has done a fantastic job! They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about ‘Trump.’”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has reaffirmed his innocence. He and his allies have framed the indictment as a politically motivated attack to diminish him as a presidential candidate for 2024.
On June 10, special counsel Smith pledged that his office would “seek a speedy trial on this matter consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused.” Trump has been summoned to appear in court in southern Florida at 3 p.m. ET on June 13, where he will hear the charges against him before a magistrate judge. He is expected to enter a not guilty plea, according to CNN.