Federal prosecutors unsealed a 49-page indictment on Friday that made multiple allegations in charging former President Donald Trump with 37 felony counts.
No trial date has been set, but the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed to the Southern District of Florida bench in 2020. Trump is scheduled to appear before Cannon on Tuesday.
Special Counsel Jack Smith said during a press conference on Friday that the former president will get “a speedy trial on this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused.”
Even with a speedy trial, Trump’s unprecedented legal challenges are sure to affect his bid for another term in the White House. He also faces a trial in New York, where the Manhattan district attorney has secured an indictment against him for allegedly falsifying business records. He also faces a separate federal criminal investigation from Smith over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and he faces a criminal investigation in Georgia over the same matter.
The following are some of the most explosive allegations and details contained in the indictment:
1. The contents of classified materials recovered throughout the course of the investigation
The indictment states:
The classified documents [Trump] stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military, attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.
The former president allegedly had in his possession classified documents from the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Department of Energy, and the Department of State and Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
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2. Trump allegedly showed members of the media classified material in a recorded interview in which he acknowledged that the material was still classified
The indictment states:
In July 2021, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey (“The Bedminster Club”), during an audio-recorded meeting with a writer, a publisher, and two members of his staff, none of whom possessed a security clearance, [Trump] showed and described a “plan of attack” that [Trump] said was prepared for him by the Department of Defense and a senior military official. [Trump] told the individuals that the plan was “highly confidential” and “secret.” [Trump] also said, “as president I could have declassified it,” and, “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
A few months later, the former president is accused of showing a representative of his political action committee “a classified map related to a military operation and told the representative that he should not be showing it to the representative and that the representative should not get too close.”
3. Trump had a co-conspirator who was charged in connection with the alleged crimes
Prosecutors charged Waltine Nauta with Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, Withholding a Document or Record, Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record, Concealing a Document in a Federal Investigation, Scheme to Conceal, and False Statements and Representations.
Nauta was a member of the United States Navy stationed as a valet in the White House while Trump was in office. In August 2021, Nauta became Trump’s executive assistant and served as Trump’s “personal aide or ‘body man,’” the indictment says.
4. Prosecutors say that Trump committed five specific examples of trying to obstruct the investigation
The indictment states that Trump “endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued retention of classified documents” by, among other things:
- suggesting that his attorney falsely represent to the FBI and grand jury that [Trump] did not have documents called for by the grand jury subpoena;
- directing defendant [Waltine Nauta] to move boxes of documents to conceal them from [Trump]’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury;
- suggesting that his attorney hide or destroy documents called for by the grand jury subpoena;
- providing to the FBI and grand jury just some of the documents called for by the grand jury subpoena, while claiming that he was cooperating fully; and
- causing a certification to be submitted to the FBI and grand jury falsely representing that all documents called for by the grand jury subpoena had been produced-while knowing that, in fact, not all such documents had been produced.
5. Three of Trump’s lawyers are witnesses in the case
The indictment makes mention of three Trump attorneys who are witnesses in the case: Trump Attorney 1, Trump Attorney 2, and Trump Attorney 3.
Conservative attorney Marina Medvin said that she has “never seen anything like that” in a criminal case.
“And Trump’s NY lawyer Cohen is reportedly a witness against him in NY,” she added. “All of his criminal cases share that in common.”
And Trump’s NY lawyer Cohen is reportedly a witness against him in NY.
All of his criminal cases share that in common…
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) June 9, 2023
Greg Wilson contributed to this report.
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