The federal criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents led to Thursday’s indictment. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
The indictment hasn’t been unsealed yet, so details of the charges aren’t publicly available. But the investigation – led by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith – revolves around sensitive government papers that Trump held onto after his White House term ended in January 2021. The special counsel has also examined whether Trump or his aides obstructed the investigation.
Here’s a timeline of the important developments in the blockbuster investigation.
May 2021: An official from the National Archives and Records Administration contacts Trump’s team after realizing that several important documents weren’t handed over before Trump left the White House. The missing documents include some of Trump’s correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as the map of Hurricane Dorian that Trump infamously altered with a sharpie pen.
July 2021: In a taped conversation, Trump acknowledges that he still has a classified Pentagon document about a possible attack against Iran, according to CNN reporting. This indicates that Trump understood that he retained classified material after leaving the White House. The special counsel later obtained this audiotape, a key piece of evidence in his inquiry.
Fall 2021: NARA grows frustrated with the slow pace of document turnover after several months of conversations with the Trump team.
January 18, 2022: After months of discussions with Trump’s team, NARA retrieves 15 boxes of Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago.
February 9, 2022: NARA asks the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s handling of White House records and whether he violated the Presidential Records Act and other laws related to classified information. The Presidential Records Act requires all records created by a sitting president to be turned over to the National Archives at the end of their administration.
April 7, 2022: NARA publicly acknowledges for the first time that the Justice Department is involved, and news outlets report that prosecutors have launched a criminal probe into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
May 11, 2022: The Justice Department subpoenas Trump, demanding all documents with classification markings that are still at Mar-a-Lago.
June 3, 2022: Federal investigators, including a top Justice Department counterintelligence official, visit Mar-a-Lago to deal with the subpoena for remaining classified documents. Trump lawyer Christina Bobb signs a sworn affidavit inaccurately asserting that there aren’t any more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
August 8, 2022: The FBI executes a court-approved search warrant at Mar-a-Lago – a major escalation of the investigation. Federal agents found more than 100 additional classified documents at the property. The search was the first time in American history that a former president’s home was searched as part of a criminal investigation.
August 12, 2022: Federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart approves the unsealing of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant and its property receipt, at the Justice Department’s request and after Trump’s lawyers agree to the release. The warrant reveals the Justice Department is looking into possible violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government records, as part of its investigation.
August 22, 2022: Trump files a federal lawsuit seeking the appointment of a third-party attorney known as a “special master” to independently review the materials that the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago. This was granted on September 5, 2022, and senior Judge Raymond Dearie was appointed on September 15, 2022, to be the special master.
November 18, 2022: Special counsel Jack Smith is appointed to take over the investigation.
Spring 2023: A string of Trump employees and aides testify before the special counsel’s grand jury in Washington, DC.
March 25, 2023: Evan Corcoran, the lead Trump attorney, testifies before the grand jury in Washington, DC. He later recused himself from handling the Mar-a-Lago matter.
June 2023: The first public indications emerge that the special counsel is using a second grand jury in Miami to gather evidence. Multiple witnesses testify in front of the Miami-based panel, CNN reported.
June 7, 2023: News outlets report that the Justice Department recently sent a “target letter” to Trump, formally notifying him that he’s a target of the investigation into potential mishandling of classified documents.
June 8, 2023: News outlets report that Trump has been indicted in connection with the classified documents investigation. Trump also says in a social media post that the Justice Department informed his attorneys that he was indicted – and called the case a “hoax.”
CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Casey Gannon contributed to this report.
