Donald Trump Indicted In Connection With Mishandling Of Classified Documents
Former president Trump was charged in the classified documents inquiry this week on 37 counts, including conspiracy to obstruct, willful retention of documents, and false statements, according to the New York Times; Trump himself confirmed the indictment on his social media platform. This marks the first time in United States history that a former president has faced federal and criminal charges, and it's especially notable as Trump is even now campaigning to return to office in the 2024 election. Now, his democratic rival Joe Biden's administration is tasked with attempting to convict the presidential hopeful of multiple felonies.
In one of several posts penned on the Truth Social platform, which Donald Trump founded, the former president wrote "The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoard, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware," and added that he would be arraigned in federal court in Miami, which indeed happened this past Tuesday. According to the New York Times, "Public filings in the documents case have painted a picture of Mr. Trump repeatedly stonewalling efforts by both the National Archives and Records Administration and the Justice Department to retrieve the trove of hundreds of sensitive government records that the former president took with him from the White House and kept mostly at his private club and residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago."
This marks the second indictment Trump has faced since leaving the Oval Office, though this one is notable as being the first in federal court—a New York City grand jury indicted the Apprentice star in March over alleged hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump's Now-Former Lawyer Says Former Prez Will 'Come Out Swinging' After 2nd Indictment
On NBC's TODAY show June 9th, Trump attorney Jim Trusty told host Craig Melvin that his client is "a resilient guy...a pretty tough guy." Trusty also reiterated Trump's claims that he is "factually innocent of these charges."
Trusty also said that Trump attending the arraignment in-person at Miami's federal court was a statement about how the former president "isn't afraid [of the] ridiculous criminalization of a non-criminal dispute." In a fascinating twist, soon after making these statements Trusty resigned from the Trump legal team along with John Rowley, another attorney. Together, the pair had led the team for months and were frequent visitors to the federal courthouse.
The lawyers issued a statement reading, "Now that the case has been filed in Miami, this is a logical moment for us to step aside and let others carry the cases through to completion. We have no plans to hold media appearances that address our withdrawals or any other confidential communications we’ve had with the President or his legal team." At this point, it seems the Trump legal team will be led by attorneys Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise, with another law firm expected to join imminently.
This isn't the first of Donald Trump's legal woes this year—in May, the former president was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming journalist E. Jean Carroll following a civil trial in Manhattan.