Donald Trump, a former US president, has been accused of handling sensitive information after leaving office.
According to US media, Mr. Trump, 76, is accused of seven offenses, including the unauthorized retention of confidential information. Charges have not yet been made public.
It is Mr. Trump’s second indictment and the first federal indictment of a former president in history. Donald Trump is running a campaign to take back the White House in 2024.
The indictment won’t hinder Donald Trump’s ability to run for president once more, according to legal experts.
The charges against Donald Trump will be heard at a federal court in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon, where he will be arrested, according to a post Mr. Trump made on Truth Social on Thursday. He claimed to be innocent and that he had been asked to appear.
He wrote, “I never thought that such a thing could happen to a former president of the United States.
“This is truly a dark day for the United States of America,” he continued. Although our nation is rapidly and seriously deteriorating, by working together, we can “Make America Great Again!”
Jim Trusty, Mr. Trump’s lawyer, told CNN that the former president had received information about the accusations in a summons.
He listed them as conspiring, making false statements, impeding the course of justice, and unlawfully holding onto secret information in violation of the Espionage Act.
Donald Trump indicted over classified documents case
The indictment has not been made available to the public, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) refuses to comment.
An indictment is a legal document that outlines the specific accusations made against a person, making sure they are aware of the suspected criminal actions.
In order to arrange Mr. Trump’s transportation to the Miami courthouse, the Secret Service will meet with his staff and security personnel.
Since being selected by Attorney General Merrick Garland to handle the papers case in November, special prosecutor Jack Smith has been analyzing the material.
A search was conducted at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last year, and 11,000 documents, including around 100 classified ones, were taken. Some of these had the designation “top secret.”
In an audio tape Mr. Trump made after leaving the White House in January 2021, he admitted to keeping a classified document, according to allegations from last week.
Federal employees, including the president, are forbidden by US law from removing or storing sensitive materials in an unauthorized location.
According to legal experts, Mr. Trump will still be eligible to run for president.
David Super, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, asserts that no matter how many times he gets charged, it will not prevent him from running for office.
Mr. Super pointed out that even if Mr. Trump were found guilty in the papers case, he could still run for government.
According to polls, the real estate and reality TV tycoon is currently in the lead among Republicans running for president.
Several influential Republicans came out in support of Mr. Trump when he sent out a fundraising email with the subject “BREAKING: INDICTED.”
Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, argued that it was “unconscionable for a president to indict his leading opponent.”
He stated on Twitter that “House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Mr. Trump’s opponent for the presidency in 2024, said: “We have seen an inconsistent execution of the law depending on party affiliation for years.
He said, “The DeSantis administration will end weaponization permanently, excise political bias, and bring accountability to the DOJ.”
Additionally, running candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to “commit to pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025, and to restore the rule of law in our country.”
The Republican Party or our country should not be defined by Mr. Trump’s alleged behavior, according to another candidate, Asa Hutchinson.
Jack Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor with a reputation for being a tenacious investigator, is also in charge of a separate inquiry investigating attempts to change the results of the 2020 election, which Mr. Trump lost.
In April, Mr. Trump, the first former president to face criminal charges, entered a not-guilty plea to 34 counts of falsifying company documents relating to a hush-money payment to a porn star.
Next year, he will stand trial in New York for that incident.