Miami: According to a broad 37-count felony indictment related to the handling of classified documents that was unsealed on Friday and that could immediately reshape the 2024 presidential race, the former president discussed a Pentagon "plan of attack" and shared a classified map pertaining to a military operation.
The indictment paints a glaringly damning picture of how Trump handled confidential information, accusing him of deliberately ignoring Justice Department requests to turn over papers he had taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, enlisting staffers in his efforts to conceal the records, and even telling his attorneys that we wanted to resist a subpoena for the records kept in his estate.
One of Trump's attorneys reportedly heard the former president say, "I don't want anybody looking through my boxes," according to the indictment. In addition, he questioned whether it would be better "if we just told them we don't have anything here," according to the indictment.
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Prosecutors contended that Trump had "nevertheless" stored the documents there, "including in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom and a storage room," between the end of Trump's presidency in January 2021 and the August 2022 search, noting the "tens of thousands of members and guests" who visited the "active social club" of Mar-a-Lago.
One day before a planned campaign trip to North Carolina, the indictment comes as Trump maintains his lead in the Republican presidential primary. Republicans will find it more difficult to criticise the indictment because of its breadth of allegations and startling scope than an earlier New York criminal case that many Republicans have criticised, despite the fact that other candidates have largely attacked the Justice Department rather than Trump for the investigation.
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The 49-page charging document is astounding in its scope and the breadth of its allegations, which claim that Trump not only knowingly had classified documents in his possession but also boastfully and cavalierly displayed them to visitors. Prosecutors even used against Trump statements he made as a candidate and president professing to respect and be aware of procedures related to the handling of classified information. The indictment is based on Trump's own words and actions as they were described to prosecutors by lawyers, close associates, and other witnesses.
The indictment contains 37 counts, which when combined could lead to a lengthy prison term. Thirty-one of the counts deal with the willful retention of national defence information, while the remaining three allege conspiracy, obstruction, and making false statements.
Trump is scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Tuesday in Miami's federal court, where the case was initially filed. Along with him on the charges was Walt Nauta, a close adviser to Trump and aide who, according to the prosecution, brought boxes from a storage room to Trump's home for him to review and later told investigators a lie about the movement. A picture of several dozen file boxes stacked in a storage area is included in the indictment.
Trump is now in even greater legal danger as a result of the case. He has already been charged in New York and is currently the subject of additional investigations in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. But among the numerous inquiries he has faced, legal professionals and Trump's own advisers have long viewed the Mar-a-Lago investigation as the most dangerous threat and the most likely to result in criminal charges.
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Since Trump's attorneys were informed that he was the subject of the investigation, campaign staffers had been preparing for the consequences, assuming that it was only a matter of time before charges were filed.
Prosecutors stated that the documents contained defence and foreign intelligence-related information, and that their "unauthorised disclosure... could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources, as well as the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods."