Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 47,805
Thanks: 27,676
Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts
|
re: TRUMP Arrested & PLEADS NOT Guilty -CRIMINAL Charges Increased to 38
TRUMP Facing 37 Felony Charges According to Unsealed Indictment
TRUMP Lawyers QUIT After Second Indictment
TRUMP is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.
What's in the TRUMP indictment: US Nuclear Secrets and Files Kept HIDDEN in Shower
BBC 10 JUNE 2023
Files were also stored in a ballroom at Donald Trump's Florida property, Mar-a-Lago
Charges have also been filed against Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Mr Trump. The former White House military valet is accused of moving files to hide them from the FBI.
He has become the first former US president in history to face criminal charges on a federal level and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The unsealing of the indictment claims that in July 2021, during a meeting with a writer, publisher, and two members of staff - none of whom had security clearance - Trump showed and described a highly confidential military "plan of attack".
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with mishandling hundreds of classified documents, including about US nuclear secrets and military plans.
The 37-count indictment accuses him of keeping the files at his Florida estate, including in a ballroom and a shower, and lying to investigators.
It alleges he then tried to obstruct the investigation into the handling of the documents.
Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, denies any wrongdoing.
The 49-page indictment contains the first-ever federal charges against a former US president. It says the classified documents Mr Trump stored in his boxes contained information about:
United States nuclear programmes
Defence and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries
Potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack
Plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack
Prosecutors say that when Mr Trump left office, he took about 300 classified files to Mar-a-Lago - his oceanfront home in Palm Beach, which is also an expansive private members' club.
The charge sheet notes that Mar-a-Lago hosted events for tens of thousands of members and guests, including in a ballroom where documents were found.
Prosecutors say Trump tried to obstruct the FBI inquiry into the missing documents by suggesting that his lawyer "hide or destroy" them, or tell investigators he did not have them.
"Wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here?" Mr Trump said to one of his attorneys, according to the indictment.
Trump's first court appearance in the case will be in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday - the eve of his 77th birthday.
Mar-a-Lago "was not an authorised location" for classified documents to be kept or discussed, the indictment says.
Some files were allegedly stored on stage in the ballroom, where events and gatherings took place - and later in a bathroom and a shower, an office space, and Mr Trump's bedroom.
On two occasions in 2021, the former president showed classified documents to people without security clearance, including a writer and two members of staff.
At his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, which was also an "unauthorised location", he is said to have displayed and described a "plan of attack" that he told others had been prepared for him by the Department of Defense.
"As president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," Mr Trump allegedly said, according to an audio recording.
Prosecutors say Mr Trump then showed off classified documents again in August or September 2021 at the Bedminster club.
The former US president "showed a representative of his political action committee who did not possess a security clearance a classified map".
This map "related to a military operation" and Mr Trump told the person "he should not be showing it" to them and they "should not get too close".
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the investigation, said on Friday that laws protecting national defence information were critical and must be enforced.
"We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone," he said in a brief statement in Washington.
Boxes of papers are stacked in a bathroom with a chandelier and a toilet visible, at Mar-a-Lago
In a social media post, Mr Trump blasted Mr Smith as a "deranged lunatic".
"He is a Trump hater - a deranged 'psycho' that shouldn't be involved in any case having to do with 'Justice,'" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trump pointed out that classified files were also found in President Joe Biden's former office and Delaware home, including in his garage.
The White House has previously said it immediately co-operated with officials as soon as those files were discovered, contrasting with Mr Trump's alleged efforts to obstruct investigators.
Shortly before the Department of Justice made the criminal charges public, two of Mr Trump's lawyers suddenly quit the case without much explanation, saying this was a "logical moment" to resign.
This is the second criminal case for Mr Trump, who is due to go on trial in New York next year in a state case involving a hush-money payment to a porn star.
Trump Aide Indicted in Classified Documents Case
See Special Counsel Jack Smith's statement on Trump indictment
|