ex-president
US judiciary accuses Trump of 37 charges – special investigators want early trial
Donald Trump and his lawyers have to defend themselves against 37 charges
© Jim Watson / AFP
According to the US judiciary, ex-US President Donald Trump is guilty of 37 charges. If Special Counsel Jack Smith has his way, it won’t be long before the trial.
The special investigator in the affair of secret government documents has promised a “speedy trial” after the indictment of former US President Donald Trump. “Note that the defendants in this case shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty in court,” Special Counsel Jack Smith said at a news conference on Friday. However, the indictment shows the “scope and gravity” of the allegations against Trump. Trump’s personal assistant was also charged.
Smith stressed that US intelligence and military personnel “dedicated their lives to protecting our country.” Protecting national defense information is critical to US security. “Violations of these laws put our country at risk,” Smith said.
The indictment contains serious allegations
Trump announced on Thursday evening (local time) that he had been charged in the secret documents affair – the 49-page indictment against the Republican presidential candidate was published on Friday. A total of seven categories of offenses are listed, with Trump being charged with more than 35 criminal offenses. He is accused of, among other things, conspiracy to obstruct investigations and unlawful retention of highly sensitive information, including details of US and foreign nuclear capabilities and US military contingency plans.
The background is the affair surrounding Trump’s handling of secret government documents after he left the White House. The federal police FBI had searched his private home Mar-a-Lago in Florida in August and confiscated various classified information, some with the highest classification level. Because the Republican kept the documents in his private home long after he left the presidency, he could have committed a criminal offense.
Secret documents in the shower
After the change of power, Trump had no authority to possess or keep secret government documents, according to the indictment. His Mar-a-Lago property was not an approved place to store the records. Trump kept boxes of classified information in his bedroom, a bathroom, a shower, a ballroom and a storage room, among other things. Some of the boxes of intelligence documents were temporarily stored in a room where public events were held. A storage room for documents with more than 80 boxes was easily accessible via a public pool area in Mar-a-Lago.
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Among other things, Trump is accused of intentionally storing national defense information. This point falls under the US espionage law and alone can be punished with up to ten years in prison. According to the indictment, documents found on Trump dealt, among other things, with the defense capabilities of the USA and other countries, including nuclear weapons, and with military weaknesses in the defense of the USA and its partners. It was also about potential military options for states that were not mentioned and, in some cases, the associated consequences for the USA. Other documents discussed foreign support for terrorist attacks on the United States and “the timing and details of the attack in a foreign country.”
Donald Trump leaks secret information
The investigators also detail in the indictment how Trump spoke to other people about the information, some of which was top secret, or showed it to third parties. A sound recording documents a meeting between Trump and a writer for an interview. Trump said he found a “highly confidential” document detailing the US military’s plan to attack a country whose name is omitted from the text. According to the transcript of the recording, Trump said a short time later: “This is classified information. Look, look at it.” None of those present were authorized to read the top-secret paper.
According to the indictment, Trump actively tried to obstruct the investigation against him. To this end, he conspired with his personal assistant, Walt Nauta, against whom charges were also brought. Among other things, Trump instructed the employee to take boxes elsewhere. He is said to have suggested to a lawyer to hide or destroy documents. Trump is said to have talked to his lawyers about the secret documents in May 2022 – i.e. before the FBI searched his property. He is said to have said: “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them that we don’t have anything here?” and “Isn’t it better if there are no documents?”
Special Counsel Jack Smith appeals to the public
After Trump officially announced in November that he would run again in the 2024 election, the Justice Department used independent special counsel Jack Smith to outsource the politically sensitive investigation into Trump. Smith also urged the public to read the full indictment to understand the scope and seriousness of the crimes.
It is the first time a federal indictment has been filed against a former US President. Trump had already been charged at the state level in New York in April in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. In a civil proceeding a few weeks ago, he was held responsible for a sexual assault in court. So far, the allegations in connection with the documents have weighed the most heavily from a legal point of view.
Further investigations into Donald Trump
However, other cases are being investigated against Trump in connection with his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. So further charges could possibly follow – and they could also be dangerous for him.
The unprecedented indictment comes in the midst of the already fraught 2024 presidential election campaign and will once again test US democracy. In polls, Trump is far ahead in the field of Republican presidential candidates. He sees the charges against him as “election interference at the highest level” and “waging war” with legal means.