Trump says he'll plead not guilty after federal indictment
Trump is set to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.
Last Updated: June 13, 2023, 10:43 AM EDT
To read live updates from Tuesday's court appearance, click here.
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges in an investigation into his handling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.
The indictment comes after more than 100 documents with classified markings were found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022.
Trump was charged with 37 counts: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information; one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
The indictment of Trump, who has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety, is unprecedented for a former president.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jun 09, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT
Special counsel speaks out
Special counsel Jack Smith said Friday that he invites everyone to read the indictment "in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged."
"The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical for the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced," he said.
"We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone," Smith said. "Applying those laws, collecting facts, that's what determines the outcome of an investigation."
Jun 09, 2023, 2:43 PM EDT
Trump to writer: 'Secret information ... look at this'
In May 2021, prosecutors allege former President Donald Trump brought some of his boxes to his Bedminster, New Jersey, property. On July 21, 2021, Trump, before and during an interview for his upcoming book, showed the writer what he called "secret information" regarding national security, prosecutors said.
In this Nov. 8, 2022, file photo, former President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during an election night party at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla.
The Washington Post via Getty Images, FILE
"Well, with [the Senior Military Official] -- uh, let me see that, I'll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack [Country A]. Isn't it amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him," Trump said, according to prosecutors. "They presented me this--this is off the record, but—they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him."
"Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this," Trump said, according to prosecutors.
"See as president, I could have declassified it," Trump said, according to prosecutors.
"Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," Trump said, according to the indictment.
Jun 09, 2023, 2:35 PM EDT
After telling FBI he's an 'open book,' Trump fled Mar-a-Lago with boxes of records: Prosecutors
The indictment alleged that in June 2022, former President Donald Trump, after meeting with officials from the FBI and declaring himself an "open book," flew from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to his Bedminster, New Jersey, property with boxes of records that had been packed on his plane earlier that day.
Nauta and "others" had loaded the boxes, prosecutors said.
Jun 09, 2023, 2:25 PM EDT
Details revealed in indictment
The indictment alleged that, after the FBI subpoenaed former President Donald Trump, he "endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued retention of classified documents by" actions including: suggesting his attorney falsely tell the FBI and grand jury that he didn’t have documents responsive to the subpoena; directing aide Walt Nauta to move boxes of documents to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI and grand jury; and causing a false certification to be submitted to the FBI and grand jury saying all documents were provided "while knowing that, in fact, not all such documents has been produced."
The indictment noted that between January 2021 and August 2022, Mar-a-Lago hosted more than 150 social events, including weddings and fundraisers "that together drew tens of thousands of guests."
In this Feb. 8, 2021, file photo, former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort is seen in Palm Beach, Fla.
Marco Bello/Reuters, FILE
The indictment mentions five of Trump’s statements in 2016, when still a candidate for president, including when he said in August 2016 that "in my administration I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information."
According to the indictment, on June 2, an attorney for Trump went through the boxes in the storage room, removed 38 documents with classified markings, placed them in a redwood folder and sealed it with clear duct tape.
Trump allegedly asked, "Did you find anything?…. Is it bad? Good?" and they discussed what to do with the documents, according to prosecutors.
Trump's attorney said at that point Trump "made a funny motion as though- well okay why don't you take them with you to your hotel room and if there’s anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out. And that was the motion that he made. He didn't say that."
According to the indictment, Trump and Nauta misled one of the Trump attorneys by moving boxes that contained documents with classified markings so that the attorney would not find the documents and produce them to a federal grand jury.
The indictment details how Nauta allegedly lied to FBI agents in May 2022 when he claimed to have no knowledge of the classified documents being brought to Mar-a-Lago.
