Former President Donald Trump and his Mar-a-Lago staffer, Walt Nauta, have been charged with dozens of counts of violating eight federal statutes related to the handling of classified documents. The 44-page indictment unsealed on Friday accuses Trump of suggesting his lawyer falsely tell the FBI and grand jury that he didn't have classified documents and directing Nauta to move boxes of documents to hide them from the lawyer, the FBI, and the grand jury. Trump is also accused of not just storing and hiding the documents but showing them to guests at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. In total, Trump faces 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act. The documents were some of the country's most important secrets, including "top secret." Trump and Nauta each face one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, among other charges.
The indictment also reveals that Trump allegedly obstructed justice by not cooperating with – and outright lying to – investigators who were trying to recover the documents. Trump also engaged in obstructing by suggesting that his attorney hide or destroy documents called for by the grand jury subpoena, and by providing to the FBI and grand jury just some of the documents called for by the grand jury subpoena, while claiming that he was cooperating fully.
The documents that Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack. Unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.
Trump has proclaimed his innocence, and his initial federal court appearance is scheduled Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Miami. The indictment describes Trump showing classified documents to others on two occasions, first in July 2021 at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and then again sometime in August or September. After his presidency, Trump was not authorized to possess or retain any classified documents, the indictment said.