What we learned from the unsealed federal indictment against Donald Trump
The federal indictment against Donald Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, was unsealed Friday, providing more details about the special counsel’s investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents.
Trump faces a total of 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, according to the indictment.
The former president, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appear in a Miami courthouse on Tuesday afternoon.
Here's what else we learned:
- Sensitive information: The classified documents that Trump supposedly stored in boxes at Mar-a-Lago included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities, US nuclear programs and potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies to a military attack, the indictment said. Some were classified at the highest levels and some were so sensitive they required special handling, according to the indictment.
- Sharing classified documents: Trump is accused of showing classified documents on two occasions to others, according to the indictment. One of those occasions was a 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump “showed and described a ‘plan of attack’ that Trump said was prepared by the Defense Department." He also showed a classified map related to a military operation at Bedminster in August or September 2021.
- Where documents were stored: Trump allegedly kept classified documents in various places at Mar-a-Lago, including “in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room." Other classified documents were found spilled out of the boxes onto the floor of the storage room.
- How documents were moved: Boxes were initially stored in a ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, prosecutors alleged, before Nauta moved some of them to a business center at the estate in March 2021. The indictment alleges some movement of the documents was directed by Trump. According to the indictment, two people who worked for Trump discussed over text message whether they were able to move boxes holding classified documents.
- Alleged attempts to conceal documents: Trump told his attorney to tell the Justice Department that he didn’t have the documents sought by the subpoena, prosecutors say in the indictment. In addition, it alleges Trump directed Nauta to move documents to hide them from Trump’s own attorneys and FBI agents and even suggested to his lawyer to “hide or destroy documents” sought by the subpoena. It also said Nauta lied to investigators about moving boxes.
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