The photographs show record boxes stored on stage at the White and Gold Ballroom at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. : Department of Justice
The former president was indicted Friday on 37 counts of documents.
According to the indictment, the documents included “information about the defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign nations.” countries.”
The US Department of Justice said, “Unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could endanger the national security of the United States.”
Trump faces seven charges, including under the espionage, and other counts include unauthorized possession of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The indictment of a former US president on federal charges is unprecedented in American history. and that's because Trump remains the top Republican nominee for president in 2024.
The 49-page indictment says investigators seized about 13,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago for almost a year back. About 100 were marked as classified.
Documents found in storage closet at Trump Estate's Mar-a-Lago
Documents scattered across the floor of the warehouse were marked “In the USA, FVE.”
This meant that the information they contained was ” only available to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.” The UK is part of an alliance that also includes the intelligence agencies of the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Andrew McCabe, former Deputy Director of the FBI, said: “This is discouraging even our closest allies. It makes them think twice before sharing their most sensitive information with us.
“The sheer recklessness in dealing with our most sensitive information is off the charts. It's off the chart. This is a true spy dream.”
Mr Trump was accused of trying to “conceal that he continues to keep classified documents” after a subpoena was issued requiring him to hand over “all classified documents '.
He was accused of suggesting that his lawyer falsely told the FBI that he had no documents and ordered his valet to move them so that they were hidden from his own lawyer and the FBI.
Some documents were stored in the bathroom. Photo: Department of Justice
Mr. Trump was also accused of showing a “secret map related to a military operation” to his political partner.
< p>He allegedly told the employee that he was not supposed to show it to them and that they “shouldn't get too close.”
The indictment alleged that valet Walt Nauta, who was also charged, moved about 64 crates . documents at the behest of Mr. Trump from the vault to the former president's residence.
Mr. Trump is the first former president in US history to face charges brought by the government he once led.
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He is preparing to appear in court in Miami on Tuesday and pleads not guilty.
He said “I'm an innocent man” and later claimed that Democrat opponents “armed” the Justice Department against him.
1006 How people viewed potential classified papers charges against Trump
Senior Republican figures rallied around Trump. condemning the accusations as politically motivated.
Ron DeSantis, his 2024 Republican challenger, Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Mike Pence, former Vice President, expressed their outrage at the Justice Department's decision.
Mr. Trump and his team were outraged, reportedly “ready to fight” and “very excited.”
The spat broke out earlier after a judge appointed by Mr. Trump was appointed to hear the historic case.
Judge Eileen Cannon was nominated by Trump in 2020, ruled in his favor during a previous legal battle, and donated to Ron DeSantis' 2018 Florida governor campaign.
If Judge Cannon continues with the case, she will decide whether to set a date for the trial before the presidential election, as well as what evidence to accept.
The documents were seized at the former president's house in Florida. Photo: AFP. secret documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Her decision, which delayed an FBI investigation, was overturned a few months later by an appeals court.
The charges in the documents case came after an investigation by Jack Smith, a special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice.
Trump “thought he was in possession of a secret Pentagon document.”
A key piece of evidence against Trump came in the form of a transcript of a recording made six months after he left office.
B In it, Mr. Trump suggested he was in possession of a still-classified Pentagon document detailing a strategy for a military attack on Iran.
He indicated that the document was in front of him and remained classified, stating, “As President, I could declassify, but I can't now.”
According to the transcript, he said, “Secret. This is classified information. Look, look at this. The military did it and handed it over to me.”
At the time, in July 2021, Trump was talking on his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, with researchers who were writing a book for his former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
He complained to them about suggestions that General Mark Milley, America's former top general, had to rein him in regarding Iran.
“I have a big stack of papers,”
Mr. Trump said, “Well, with Millie — uh let me show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn't it amazing? I've got a big pile of papers, this thing just popped up. Look. It was him.
“They presented it to me — it's off the record, but — they presented it to me. It was he. It was the Ministry of Defense and he. We looked at some. It was he. It wasn't me, it was him.”
Mr. Trump continued, “All sorts of things – pages long, look. Wait a minute, let's take a look here. I just found it, isn't it amazing? It totally wins my case [against Millie], you know. Except it's very private. Secret. This is classified information. Look, look at this.”
The recording was a regular one, made by Trump aide Margo Martin, and later requested by prosecutors.
It is expected that in the case, the jury will eventually have to decide , does this mean that Mr. Trump was knowingly in possession of a document that was not declassified.
Mr. Trump said: “The corrupt Biden administration told my lawyers that I was charged, apparently, with in connection with the draw of the boxes.
“I was called to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday. I never thought this could happen to a former President of the United States.”
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