Former President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday that he had been indicted for the mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, marking him as the first ex-president in American history to face federal criminal charges.
The indictment bears heavy legal consequences, including possible prison time, and has major political implications, potentially disrupting the Republican primary, which Trump had been leading.
The charges stem from a month-long investigation into whether Trump unlawfully retained hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and possibly obstructed governmental attempts to recover them.
The indictment, which has not yet been officially confirmed by the Justice Department, reportedly includes seven criminal counts such as willful retention of national defense information, obstruction, false statements, and conspiracy.
The charges follow a series of probes against Trump, already indicted in New York and subject to further investigations in Washington and Atlanta. This case, however, had been perceived by legal experts and Trump’s team as the most precarious. Amid these revelations, Trump began fundraising for his 2024 campaign, maintaining his innocence and insisting the investigation is a “witch hunt.” The case is a landmark for the Justice Department, having investigated but never criminally charged Trump before, despite several inquiries into his presidency and private life.
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