US federal prosecutors have indicted former US President Donald Trump in their investigation into his potential mishandling of classified government documents, Trump announced Thursday via his social media platform Truth Social. As of the time of this report, federal prosecutors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) have yet to confirm the indictment.
Sources close to the federal investigation told CNN that federal prosecutors indicted Trump on seven charges. The New York Times and the Washington Post reported that the charges will potentially include making false statements, conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of documents. Trump is scheduled to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami, Florida next Tuesday, June 13, to face the charges.
Trump said his attorneys informed him of the indictment late on Thursday in what he referred to as “the Boxes Hoax.” In a series of posts announcing the indictment, Trump claimed to be an innocent man and cast blame on current President Joe Biden, who was also found to be in possession of classified documents outside of proper channels.
The National Archives first alerted federal officials to 15 boxes of missing classified documents from the Trump White House in February 2022. The FBI then raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida residence in August 2022, where the missing boxes were discovered. Since then, Trump has challenged and publicly ridiculed federal prosecutors’ investigative efforts. The case even appeared before the US Supreme Court, wherein Trump requested and was denied permission to reinstate a special master review of some of the classified documents.
The case will be led by DOJ special counsel Jack Smith, who US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed to head the case back in November 2022.
Though these are the first federal charges Trump will face, Trump was previously indicted by a New York grand jury in April. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records under New York law earlier this year. That case involves a scheme between Trump and his allies to hide damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential investigation. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts.
