Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department has not yet confirmed the indictment publicly. Trump’s lawyers were reportedly contacted by prosecutors shortly before he announced the indictment on his Truth Social platform. Within 20 minutes of the announcement, Trump had begun fundraising for his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump is due in court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. This adds to Trump’s legal jeopardy, as he has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta. The indictment arises from a months-long investigation by special counsel Jack Smith.
In line with The Hollywood Reporter, former President Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate. This federal prosecution is one of several legal threats against Trump as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The Justice Department has not yet publicly confirmed the indictment, but a person familiar with the situation said that Trump’s lawyers were contacted by prosecutors shortly before he announced on his Truth Social platform that he had been indicted. Within 20 minutes of his announcement, Trump had begun fundraising off it for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump said that he is due in court Tuesday afternoon in Miami. The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges.
The indictment arises from a months-long investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump broke the law by holding onto hundreds of documents marked classified at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, and whether Trump took steps to obstruct the government’s efforts to recover the records.
Prosecutors have said that Trump took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including some 100 that were seized by the FBI last August in a search of the home that underscored the gravity of the Justice Department’s investigation.
Trump and his team have long seen the special counsel investigation as far more perilous than the New York matter – both politically and legally. Campaign aides had been bracing for the fallout since Trump’s attorneys were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it was not a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.
It remains unclear what the immediate and long-term political consequences will be for Trump. His first indictment spurred millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and didn’t damage Trump in the polls. No matter what, the indictment – along with the other legal threats – will pit Trump’s claims of sweeping executive power against Attorney General Merrick Garland’s oft-stated mantra that no person, including a former commander in chief, should be regarded as above the law.
To draw a conclusion, the indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against him as he seeks to reclaim the White House. The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges. As the prosecution moves forward, it will pit Trump’s claims of sweeping executive power against Attorney General Merrick Garland’s oft-stated mantra that no person, including a former commander in chief, should be regarded as above the law.
