Federal prosecutor on Friday (June 9) unsealed an indictment of Donald Trump and accused the former US president of holding on to top secret nuclear and defense documents and endangering national security after leaving the White House.
Trump (76) is currently the frontrunner to win the Republican Party nomination to run for president in 2024 elections. The 49-page charge sheet said that the former president took hundreds of classified government documents in cardboard boxes to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
The indictment says that the files kept by Trump at his residence included records from the Pentagon, CIA and National Security Agency. The sensitive documents lay unsecured at the property which often hosted large social events.
Moreover, the indictment says that Trump showed sensitive documents on the US military and its plans to people who were not authorised to see them. This happened on at least two occasions at his golf club in New Jersey.
Ex-prez faces 37 separate counts
Trump faces 37 separate counts in the indictment. These include 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information”. A conviction on each count has a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” said Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the historic indictment against Trump, the first former US president ever to face federal criminal charges.
“Laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” Smith said, adding that he would seek to ensure that Trump receives a “speedy trial.”
Other charges against Trump
Other charges facing the twice-impeached Trump include conspiracy to obstruct justice, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, withholding a document or record, which also carries a potential 20-year sentence, and making false statements.
Trump’s personal aide, Walt Nauta, was named as a co-conspirator, charged with six counts for helping Trump hide documents, which were kept at various locations in Mar-a-Lago, according to the indictment, including a ballroom, a bathroom, Trump’s bedroom and a storage room.
“The classified documents Trump stored in the boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries,” the indictment said.
Other records dealt with US nuclear programs and potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack along with plans for retaliation, it said.
“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the Untied States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources,” according to the indictment.
(With inputs from agencies)
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