Donald Trump said on Thursday he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the US ex-president\u2019s most serious legal threat yet as a firestorm of criminal investigations imperils his bid for a second White House term. \u201cThe corrupt Biden administration has informed my attorneys that I have been indicted, seemingly over the boxes hoax,\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he broke the bombshell news of a historic moment for the United States: the first time a sitting or former commander-in-chief has ever faced federal charges. There was no immediate confirmation from the Justice Department regarding Trump\u2019s assertion. A Trump attorney, Jim Trusty, told CNN his client has been indicted on seven charges including the willful retention of documents in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice and a count of conspiracy. Though the precise details of the charges were not immediately clear, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the conspiracy charge was related to obstruction of justice. In his post, Trump, who is running for president again, said he has been summoned to a federal courthouse in Miami next Tuesday \u2014 the day before his 77th birthday. \u201cI never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former president of the United States,\u201d he wrote. His announcement came a day after US media said federal prosecutors had informed the former president\u2019s lawyers that he is the target of the probe into his handling of classified documents. He was already the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime \u2014 in his case over election-eve hush money payments to a porn star who said she had an affair with him. That indictment was handed down by Manhattan\u2019s district attorney in March. In a statement after his initial online posts, the Trump campaign lashed out at what it called an \u201cunprecedented abuse of power,\u201d and called for the indictment to be thrown out. Dark day In a defiant video released after he shared the news, Trump repeatedly declared his innocence and framed the indictment as a form of election interference by a Justice Department \u201cweaponised\u201d by Joe Biden\u2019s administration. \u201cThey come after me because now we\u2019re leading in the polls again by a lot against Biden,\u201d Trump says in the clip. \u201cOur country is going to hell and they come after Donald Trump [\u2026] We can\u2019t let this continue.\u201d His allies in Congress swiftly stood by him, like House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan. Top Republican leadership, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy who has had a rollercoaster relationship with the former president, also rushed to defend Trump. \u201cToday is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him,\u201d House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a statement. \u201cI, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump.\u201d Special counsel Jack Smith, named by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after leaving the White House. The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and obstruction-of-justice charges could be a result of his resisting efforts to recover the trove. Trump eventually turned over 15 boxes containing almost 200 classified documents to the National Archives in January 2022 but was subpoenaed for any outstanding records in his possession. When asked about the charges on Thursday night, Smith\u2019s spokesman Peter Carr told AFP, \u201cWe are declining to comment.\u201d Mounting legal woes Some Democratic lawmakers spoke out following Thursday\u2019s extraordinary revelation. Trump\u2019s indictment \u201cis another affirmation of the rule of law,\u201d House Democrat Adam Schiff said. \u201cFor four years, he acted like he was above the law,\u201d Schiff added. \u201cBut he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been.\u201d Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the documents\u2019 case, telling a Fox News town hall event on June 1 that \u201ceverything I did was right.\u201d But he has openly acknowledged taking and storing the documents, undermining his lawyers\u2019 suggestion he took the stash inadvertently in the confusion of a chaotic departure. \u201cThis evidence just adds to the mound of stuff that already exists, and no one piece is the \u2018be all and end all,\u2019 but when you put them all together, the case is so strong,\u201d former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks told MSNBC. \u201cYou cannot imagine his getting away with this.\u201d The latest indictment comes with Trump facing numerous other probes as he bids to be the Republican nominee to challenge US President Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024. Smith is also looking at whether Trump should face charges over the 2021 US Capitol riot, and Georgia prosecutors are investigating whether Trump illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome there. The former president has already been charged with dozens of financial crimes as part of an alleged hush-money scheme to silence a porn star claiming she had sex with him and is due to go on trial next March, in the middle of primary election season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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