After federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment of former US president Donald Trump on Friday, it was revealed that he had stored sensitive documents on the nuclear capabilities and defence, endangering the country’s national security. As per news agency AFP, the current frontrunner of the 2024 Republican presidential election nominee, 76-year-old Trump took "hundreds" of classified government documents in cardboard boxes to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the 49-page charge sheet said. The historic indictment is the first federal case against a former president.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors have said that the documents Trump stowed, refused to return and in some cases showed to visitors risked jeopardising not only relations with foreign nations but also the safety of troops and confidential sources. The files included records from the Pentagon, CIA and National Security Agency which he stored unsecured at the Mar-a-Lago, a property which regularly hosted large social events involving tens of thousands of guests over time.
ALSO READ | What Is Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents Case In Which Trump Has Been Indicted: Explained
He was reported to have shown classified documents on US military operations and plans to people not cleared to see them at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club on at least two occasions. These also dealt with potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack along with plans for retaliation, the chargesheet said, as per AFP.
Trump's aide, Walt Nauta, is charged with six counts for transporting the boxes around the complex and then lying to investigators about the movement of the boxes, according to the indictment.
In August 2022, when the FBI obtained a search warrant, documents were recklessly stored in spaces including a “ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.”
Donal Trump To Appear For First Hearing On June 14
Trump faces 37 separate counts in the indictment including 31 counts of "willful retention of national defence information" relating to specific documents. A conviction on each count carries up to 10 years in prison.
“Nobody said I wasn’t allowed to look at the personal records that I brought with me from the White House. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith said, "We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone”. Smith brought the historic indictment against Trump, reported AFP.
"Laws that protect national defence information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced," Smith said, adding that he would seek to ensure that Trump receives a "speedy trial."
Trump is to appear in court in Miami at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Tuesday for the first hearing in the case.
According to US media, the case will initially be handled by Aileen Cannon, 42, a Trump-appointed judge who made rulings favourable to the former president during a court review of documents seized in an August 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, as per AFP.
It'll be several months before the trial even begins so nothing is preventing Trump from pursuing a second term in the White House.