Former President Donald Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday on 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. While this is by far the most serious allegation against Trump over his handling of information security, it’s not the first time he’s shown a lax approach to security. regard to confidential information.
“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people,” Special Counsel Jack Smith said as the seal was unsealed. indictment on Friday. “Our laws that protect national defense information are essential to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced. Violations of these laws put our country at risk.
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Among the charges Trump faces — 31 of which fall under the Espionage Act — include willfully withholding national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing a document or of a file and the concealment scheme. If convicted, the former president and current front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination could face years in prison.
Loose with classified information while he was president
Four months after Trump took office, the Washington Post reported that he leaked highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and the ambassador to the United States. An official familiar with the matter said Trump “disclosed more information to the Russian ambassador than we shared with our own allies.” That same month, a transcript circulated of an April 29, 2017, telephone conversation in which Trump told Rodrigo Duterte, then President of the Philippines, that the United States had two nuclear submarines off the coast of the Korean peninsula.
In August 2019, Trump tweeted a photo of a failed Iranian rocket launch believed to be from the president’s daily intelligence briefing. The image raised concerns among intelligence experts that Trump had revealed previously undisclosed surveillance capabilities, with a satellite imagery analyst telling NPR that Trump’s message included “pretty astounding capabilities that the public doesn’t know about.” was just not aware before that”.
Trump Classified Documents Charges: Read the full indictment >>>
While these incidents may have raised some eyebrows, they never rose to the level of a criminal investigation. But after Trump left office in 2021, questions were raised about Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home – which would ultimately lead to his indictment on federal charges.
Here is a timeline of events leading up to the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, which ultimately resulted in his indictment.
February 2022: The National Archives and Records Administration calls for an investigation
The National Archives and Records Administration has asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s handling of government documents after he returned classified documents that had been stored at Mar-a-Lago. “The biggest concern was that highly classified records were being declassified, mixed with other records” and misidentified, the special agent in charge of the agency’s inspector general’s office said, according to The Associated Press. .
May 2022: Trump opposes handing over remaining classified documents
A grand jury subpoena forced Trump to turn over all classified documents, but the former president told his lawyers, “I don’t want anyone looking in my boxes.” Weeks later, federal agents traveled to Mar-a-Lago to collect another 38 classified documents. documents found by Trump’s lawyers and were allowed to visit a storage room where documents had been kept, but were prohibited from looking inside the boxes.
August 2022: FBI agents search Mar-a-Lago
The FBI searched Trump’s Florida residence and a court-approved warrant released days later revealed that:
Two weeks after the search, Trump filed a lawsuit to block the Justice Department from reviewing the seized documents until a third-party “special master” had reviewed them.
September 2022: DOJ temporarily barred from accessing seized documents
Florida U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Trump’s request for an outside review by a special master, who temporarily barred the DOJ from using the seized documents. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later partially lifted Cannon’s injunction, granting the DOJ access to the classified documents.
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November 2022: special advocate appointed
Days after Trump announced he was running for president in 2024, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that Special Counsel Jack Smith would oversee the investigation into the classified documents.
December 2022: DOJ has access to all Mar-a-Lago documents
The 11th Circuit overruled Cannon’s appointment of a special master, giving the DOJ access to all materials seized at Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s attorneys also found and turned over other documents marked as classified to the DOJ.
June 2023: the grand jury indicts Trump
On June 8, a grand jury in Miami indicted Trump, and the indictment was released the following day. A court appearance in Miami federal court is scheduled for June 13.