Yesterday (June 10, Vietnam time), the US Department of Justice unsealed a 49-page indictment against former US President Donald Trump, accusing him of endangering national security by keeping top secret defense and nuclear documents after leaving the White House in January 2021. AFP quoted the indictment as saying that former President Trump brought hundreds of secret US government documents to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
An assistant fixes Mr. Trump's collar before a golf tournament in Sterling, Virginia, on May 25.
Faced 37 charges
According to the indictment, Mr. Trump kept numerous classified documents, including files from the Pentagon, CIA and National Security Agency, unsecured at Mar-a-Lago, which regularly hosts large social events.
“The classified documents that Mr. Trump stored in the boxes included information related to U.S. and foreign defense and weapons capabilities,” the indictment says. Other documents related to the U.S. nuclear program, potential vulnerabilities of the U.S. and its allies to military attack, and plans for retaliation.
The indictment also alleges that on at least two occasions, Trump gave classified documents about U.S. military operations and plans to unauthorized people at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. "The unauthorized disclosure of this classified document could have posed a risk to U.S. national security, foreign relations, and the safety of U.S. military personnel and personnel," the indictment states.
Trump faces 37 separate charges in the indictment, including 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information” related to specific documents. Each charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He also faces charges of obstruction of justice, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and making false statements.
In addition, former President Trump's assistant Walt Nauta was named as a co-defendant, charged with six counts of helping Mr. Trump hide documents in multiple locations at Mar-a-Lago, such as the ballroom, the bathroom and even Mr. Trump's bedroom, according to the indictment.
A photo released by the US Department of Justice on June 9 shows boxes of documents stored at the Mar-a-Lago Resort in 2021.
Trump's response
The indictment makes Mr Trump the first former US president to face federal criminal charges, and the person who brought this historic indictment was special prosecutor Jack Smith, according to AFP. Mr Smith said yesterday that he would seek to ensure that the trial on the classified documents case would proceed quickly.
Even if convicted, Trump could still take office
Mr Trump will appear in court in Miami, Florida, on June 13 to hear the indictment over the classified documents. No trial in the case is expected to begin for several months and there is nothing to prevent Mr Trump from running for the White House again while he faces the charges, according to AFP.
If he is re-elected, Trump could potentially pardon himself. But that would be a controversial and unprecedented legal move. Legal experts say there would be no basis to prevent Trump from taking the oath of office even if he is convicted and sent to prison, according to Reuters.
Trump responded to the indictment by calling Smith “deranged” and a “Trump hater” on his social media platform Truth Social. “Under the Presidential Records Act, I was allowed to do all of this. No crime,” Trump continued. In a video released on June 8, Trump also declared his innocence and dismissed the indictment as election interference by the Justice Department, which was abused by President Joe Biden.
President Biden said yesterday he had no comment on the case, according to Reuters. Mr. Biden and top US officials have repeatedly asserted that the Justice Department is acting independently in its investigation of Mr. Trump.
Meanwhile, Republicans have accused Mr. Trump of being politically motivated, as he is running for the Republican presidential nomination to challenge Mr. Biden in the 2024 presidential election, according to Reuters.
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