Logo

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to mishandling classified White House documents that were recovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The 76-year-old ex-president announced the news in a Thursday night Truth Social post shortly after prosecutors informed his lawyers about the indictment, a source familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote in the social media post that went on to criticize President Biden’s handling of classified material.

Trump’s attorney, Jim Trusty, confirmed to CNN that his client is facing seven charges.

“It does have some language in it that suggests what the seven charges would be. Not 100% clear that all of those are separate charges, but they basically break out from an Espionage Act charge,” Trusty said in the interview.

ABC news reported, citing sources, that the seven charges are: willful retention of national defense information; conspiracy to obstruct justice; withholding a document or record; corruptly concealing a document or record; concealing a document in a federal investigation; scheme to conceal; and false statements and representations.

Trusty said his team has not received a copy of the indictment but instead received a summons via email.

The Justice Department has yet to comment on the indictment.

The indictment is Trump’s second since leaving office, and marks the first time in US history a former president has faced federal charges. In April, he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. 


  More than 100 items with classified markings were found during the August FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago. AP More than 100 items with classified markings were found during the August FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago. AP

The former president has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in either case. 

Trump said his arraignment in the classified documents case is next Tuesday and he’s expected to surrender to Florida authorities then, the New York Times reported.

“I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump wrote. 

“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” he said in a third Truth Social post on the indictment.

In a Thursday night interview on Fox News, the 45th president said he “of course” plans to plead not guilty next week and he slammed the federal indictment as “election interference at the highest level” and “the greatest witch hunt of all time.”

Here's what to know about former President Donald Trump's federal indictment

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to mishandling classified White House documents that were recovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump unlawfully kept hundreds of documents after leaving office — including papers detailing America’s conventional and nuclear weapons programs, potential weak points in US defenses, and plans to respond to a foreign attack, federal prosecutors charged Friday.

The 45th president stored boxes containing the documents throughout his estate, including “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room,” according to a 49-page indictment filed in Miami federal court Thursday.


Follow The Post’s coverage of former President Trump’s federal indictment


The indictment against Trump was unsealed hours after the 77-year-old announced he had been charged by Jack Smith, the special counsel tapped in November to examine Trump’s retention of official documents at Mar-a-Lago.

The indictment is the former commander-in-chief’s second since leaving office and marks the first time in US history a former president has faced federal charges.

In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg related to hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. 

READ MORE

Unlike Trump’s Manhattan indictment, the US Secret Service and US Marshals did not get advance notice about the charges and that law enforcement is now “scrambling” to prepare for his Tuesday court appearance, CNN reported.

The Trump campaign sent out a fundraising email minutes after the ex-commander in chief made the shocking announcement. 

“We are watching our Republic DIE before our very eyes,” Trump writes in the email. “The Biden-appointed Special Counsel has INDICTED me in yet another witch hunt regarding documents that I had the RIGHT to declassify as President of the United States.”

Follow The Post’s coverage on Trump’s latest indictment

“This is nothing but a disgusting act of Election Interference by the ruling party to ELIMINATE its opposition and amass total control over our country,” he adds.

The campaign released a separate statement on Thursday calling the indictment an “act of open legal ‘warfare’ by the highly politicized and partisan Department of Injustice.”

“By politically weaponizing the DOJ, the Biden administration and their henchmen in the Swamp are now conducting an all-out prosecution of the leader of the current administration’s political opposition. This is un-American and wrong,” the statement reads.

“President Trump will fight this unconstitutional abuse of power until he is ultimately vindicated,” the statement continues.

Trump also released a 4-minute long video on Truth Social in which he rails against the FBI and Justice Department and vows to fight the charges.

“It’s called election interference,” he said of the indictment. “They’re trying to destroy your reputation so they could win an election. That’s just as bad as doing any of the other things that have been done over the last number of years and especially during the 2020 election.”

“So I just want to tell you, I’m an innocent man, I did nothing wrong. And we’ll fight this out just like we’ve been fighting for seven years,” he added.

The Justice Department’s investigation into Trump over the official material was triggered in February of last year, after more than 100 classified documents were discovered in 15 boxes returned to the National Archives and Records Administration from the 45th president’s Palm Beach, Fla., residence and private club. 


  The National Archives and Records Administration tipped off the Justice Department in February that presidential records returned by Trump contained classified material. AP The National Archives and Records Administration tipped off the Justice Department in February that presidential records returned by Trump contained classified material. AP

That June, 38 more documents were handed over to authorities by Trump’s lawyers following a grand jury subpoena demanding the return of all documents in the former president’s possession bearing classified markings. 

A letter to the Justice Department drafted by Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran and signed by attorney Christina Bobb attested that a “diligent search” related to the subpoena had been completed and that all sensitive government documents stored at the property had been returned. 

However, an Aug. 8, 2022 FBI raid of Mar-Lago turned up more than 100 additional items with classified markings

In November, after Trump announced that he would embark on his third bid for the White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed former war crimes prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel overseeing the classified document probe as well as the government’s investigation into Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol Building. 


  Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed in November after Trump announced the launch of his 2024 presidential campaign. AFP via Getty Images Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed in November after Trump announced the launch of his 2024 presidential campaign. AFP via Getty Images

Smith’s team reportedly called in dozens of Mar-a-Lago staffers – from restaurant servers to maintenance workers – and several Trump aides and members of his legal team to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington. A second grand jury was impaneled in South Florida and heard testimony from Trump associates including his post-presidential spokesman, Taylor Budowich. 

Investigators working for Smith reportedly examined evidence that included surveillance footage of boxes being moved the day before a federal prosecutor visited Mar-a-Lago, and an audio recording of Trump admitting to having held on to a classified document about a potential military strike against Iran. 

Trump has argued that he declassified everything he took from the White House, claiming a president has the authority to declassify material “even by thinking about it.” 


  Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. REUTERS Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. REUTERS

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump maintained that he “did nothing wrong” and referenced the government’s investigation into President Biden’s own classified documents scandal as reasons for why he shouldn’t face charges. 

“HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE HAS 1,850 BOXES, MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED, AND SOME DATING BACK TO HIS SENATE DAY WHEN EVEN DEMOCRAT SENATORS ARE SHOCKED. ALSO, PRESIDENT CLINTON HAD DOCUMENTS, AND WON IN COURT. CROOKED HILLARY DELETED 33,000 EMAILS, MANY CLASSIFIED, AND WASN’T EVEN CLOSE TO BEING CHARGED! ONLY TRUMP – THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Trump wrote in the all-caps post. 


  The former president has argued that he declassified all the material he took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago. REUTERS The former president has argued that he declassified all the material he took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago. REUTERS

On Wednesday Trump alleged that a “WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI” is the reason he is under federal scrutiny. 

“No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong, but I have assumed for years that I am a Target of the WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI, starting with the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX, the ‘No Collusion’ Mueller Report, Impeachment HOAX #1, Impeachment HOAX #2, the PERFECT Ukraine phone call, and various other SCAMS & WITCH HUNTS. A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE & ELECTION INTERFERENCE AT A LEVEL NEVER SEEN BEFORE. REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST MAKE THIS THEIR # 1 ISSUE!!!” he wrote. 

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy