The indictment of former President Donald Trump for 37 counts of mishandling of secret documents at his Florida mansion poses the most serious legal risk yet for him, less than three months after he was indicted in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying accounting records.
Read the accusation document here
Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation, and how Trump’s case differs from other politicians known to have been in possession of classified documents:
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Trump faces 37 counts related to mishandling secret documents, according to the indictment unsealed Friday. The charges include withholding classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes.
Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some detailing US military capabilities. and other countries, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors alleged that Trump showed the texts to people who did not have security clearances to review them, and later tried to hide them from his own lawyers when they tried to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.
The main charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
After leaving office in 2021, the former president showed someone working for his political action committee a map detailing a military operation in a foreign country, prosecutors allege in the document.
On another occasion that year, Trump showed a writer, an editor and two of his own employees—neither of whom had security clearance—a military attack plan.
HOW IS TRUMP REACTING?
Trump said Thursday on his Truth Social social network that his impeachment was “a dark day for the United States of America.”
In a video post, he said: “I am innocent and we will prove that very, very solidly, and hopefully very quickly.” Within 20 minutes of breaking the news, his 2024 presidential campaign sent out a fundraising letter asking for financial support.
On Friday he made more posts about it on social media. He lashed out at the special counsel who investigated the case, sought to blame President Joe Biden, called the investigation a “witch hunt” and declared: “I had nothing to hide and I have nothing to hide now.”
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW?
The Justice Department unsealed the indictment Friday, the first time the department has confirmed that Trump was being charged with a crime.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges, made his first public statement Friday afternoon, telling reporters in Washington in brief remarks that the country has “a set of laws and they apply to everyone.” He indicated that prosecutors would seek a speedy trial.
Trump is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday in Miami. At the moment it was not clear what the procedure would be.
Photos included in his federal criminal indictments show the former president’s mishandling of classified documents at his home in Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago.
When indicted by the Manhattan district attorney in the New York case, Trump turned himself in to authorities, who booked him behind closed doors and appeared in the courtroom, sitting with his lawyers at the defense table.
The Florida case was initially assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, whom Trump appointed to the court and who previously agreed to his request that an independent arbitrator review documents obtained during an FBI search of his Florida mansion.
HOW DID THIS CASE COME?
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) officials contacted Trump representatives in the spring of 2021 when they realized important material from his term in office was missing.
Under the Presidential Records Act, White House documents are considered property of the United States government and must be preserved.
A Trump representative informed the NARA in December 2021 that presidential records had been found at Mar-a-Lago. In January 2022, the NARA recovered 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Florida residence, later telling Justice Department officials that they contained “a lot” of classified material.
That May, the FBI and the Justice Department issued a subpoena for the return of the remaining classified documents in Trump’s possession.
Investigators who visited the property weeks later to compile the records received approximately three dozen documents and an affidavit from Trump’s lawyers stating that the requested information had been returned.
But that claim turned out to be false. With a search warrant, federal officials returned to Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and seized more than 33 boxes and containers with a total of 11,000 documents from a warehouse and an office, including 100 classified documents.
In all, approximately 300 documents marked as confidential — including some at the top secret level — have been recovered from Trump since he left office in January 2021.
HOW WAS A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR INVOLVED?
Last year, US Attorney General Merrick Garland selected Jack Smith—a veteran war crimes prosecutor with experience in public corruption investigations—to lead investigations into the presence of confidential documents at Trump’s mansion in Florida, as well as key aspects of a separate investigation involving the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the federal Capitol and attempts to overturn the 2020 election result.
Smith’s appointment was an acknowledgment by Garland of the politics involved in the investigation of a former president and current White House candidate.
Special counsel Jack Smith reiterated the more than 30 charges former President Donald Trump faces over classified documents found at his Florida mansion. To see more from Telemundo, visit
Garland himself was selected by Democratic President Joe Biden, whom Trump is seeking to challenge in the 2024 election.
Special prosecutors are appointed in cases where the Justice Department perceives itself to be in a conflict of interest, or when it is considered in the public interest for someone outside the government to step in and take responsibility for a matter.
According to the Code of Federal Regulations, a special prosecutor must have “a reputation for integrity and impartial decision-making” as well as “a thorough understanding of criminal law and Department of Justice policies.”
DIDN’T BIDEN AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE HAVE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TOO?
Yes, but the circumstances of their cases are very different from those involving Trump.
After secret documents were found at the president’s Penn Biden Center and Pence’s home in Indiana, his lawyers notified authorities and quickly arranged for them to be released.
They also authorized other inspections by federal authorities to search for additional documents.
There is no indication that either man knew of the existence of the documents before they were found, and no evidence has emerged so far that Biden or Pence tried to hide the discoveries. That’s important because, historically, the Justice Department takes intent into account when deciding whether to file criminal charges.
The former president faces more than 30 charges for classified documents found in his Florida mansion. Details in the video.
A special prosecutor was appointed this year to investigate how the secret materials found their way into Biden’s home and former office in Delaware. But even if the Justice Department were to find Biden’s case subject to evidence-based prosecution, its Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a president is immune from prosecution during his time in office.
As for Pence, the Justice Department informed his legal team this month that it would not file criminal charges against him for his handling of the documents.
WILL A FEDERAL IMPEACHMENT STOP TRUMP FROM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?
No. Neither the indictment itself nor a guilty plea would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
And as the New York case showed, criminal charges have historically been a boon to his fundraising.
The campaign announced it had raised more than $4 million in the 24 hours after that allegation was made public, far exceeding its previous record after the FBI raided Trump’s clubhouse, Mar-a-Lago.
HOW DID TRUMP’S GOP RIVALS REACT TO THE NEWS?
Many of Trump’s contenders for the Republican nomination jumped to his defense after news of the impeachment broke.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and Trump’s main rival for the 2024 nomination, accused the Justice Department of political bias in impeaching the former president.
“Weaponizing federal law enforcement poses a deadly threat to a free society,” DeSantis tweeted. “For years we have witnessed uneven application of the law based on political affiliation.”
He questioned why the Justice Department had been “so diligent” in bringing charges against Trump and “so passive” about going after former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton or Hunter Biden, the president’s son.
While campaigning in New Hampshire on Friday, former Vice President Pence said he was “deeply concerned” to see the indictment because he believed it would further divide the nation. He also asked Garland to release the indictment as soon as possible.
“You must come forward and explain to us why this was necessary before the sun goes down today,” Pence declared.
Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, also condemned the impeachment, saying: “This is not how justice should be pursued in our country.”
“The American people are exhausted by prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and retaliation,” he added Friday. “It’s time to leave the drama and endless distractions behind.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said Thursday that he felt the “scales (of the justice system) are tipped” based on politics. “In the United States, every person is presumed innocent, not guilty,” Scott declared on Fox News, denouncing “weaponizing the Department of Justice against the former president.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, biotech entrepreneur and “antiwoke” activist (opposed to awareness of issues of social inequality), said the federal case was part of “an affront to all citizens.” Reiterating his comments that he would pardon Trump, Ramaswamy called it “hypocritical for the Justice Department to selectively prosecute Trump but not” Biden over his secret documents case.
Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor who called on Trump to withdraw from the race after the charges were filed in New York, said the federal indictment marked “a sad day for our country” and “reaffirms the need for Donald Trump respect office and end his campaign.”
