Reactions mount after Trump is indicted over classified documents

Reuters reported that former President Donald Trump wrote on social network Truth Social on June 8 that President Joe Biden's administration informed his lawyers that he had been indicted for mishandling sensitive government documents.

Second Indictment

The new indictment remains sealed and even Mr Trump himself has not seen its contents. A source told Reuters that Mr Trump's legal team was informed of the seven charges as part of a summons to Mr Trump to appear in court.

Speaking on CNN, Trump lawyer Jim Trusty said the charges include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice and unlawful retention of classified documents under the Espionage Act. Trusty also said he expects to see the indictment between now and June 13.

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at an event in Manchester, New Hampshire (USA) on April 27.

A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith, the Justice Department official handling the investigation into the classified documents, declined to comment. It is illegal for the government to comment publicly on any grand jury matter that is under seal, according to Reuters.

The indictment is Trump's second since leaving office and marks the first time in US history that a former president has faced federal charges. In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts brought by US Attorney Alvin Bragg related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Former President Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in both cases. Mr. Trump said he has been summoned to appear in a federal court in Miami, Florida, on the classified documents case at 3 p.m. on June 13 (local time).

Nearly a year ago, investigators seized about 13,000 documents from Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, including 100 marked secret, though one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers previously said all classified files had been returned to the government.

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Reactions from some parties

In a statement after Mr Trump announced on social media that he was being prosecuted for using classified documents, his campaign slammed what they called an "unprecedented abuse of power" and called for the indictment to be dismissed, according to AFP.

Mr Trump's campaign also said that Mr Trump "has long been the greatest threat and top political target of (President) Joe Biden and the Democratic Party".

Mr Trump's allies in Congress quickly rallied to his defense, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan. "It's a sad day for America," Mr Jordan said in a statement.

US Congressman Jim Jordan and House Republicans hold a press conference on May 11.

Meanwhile, Democratic Representative Adam Schiff said that "the clear indictment of Mr. Trump is another affirmation of the rule of law." "For four years, he has acted as if he were above the law. But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker," Mr. Schiff said.

The latest indictment comes as former President Trump faces multiple investigations as he enters the race to become the Republican presidential nominee to challenge President Biden in the 2024 election.

Special counsel Smith is also examining whether Mr. Trump should face charges over the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, and Georgia prosecutors are investigating whether Mr. Trump illegally tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election there.

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Trump asks for retrial in case of his sexual abuse conviction

Former US President Donald Trump on June 8 requested a new trial for a civil lawsuit in which he was convicted of sexually abusing journalist E. Jean Carroll, according to Reuters.

In a filing in federal court in Manhattan, Mr. Trump’s lawyers said the jury’s $2 million award for the sexual abuse portion of the verdict was “excessive” because the jury found that Ms. Carroll was not raped and that the conduct she alleged did not cause any diagnosable emotional distress.

They also argued that the $2.7 million defamation claim was “based entirely on speculation.” Meanwhile, Ms Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement that Mr Trump’s arguments were “frivolous.”

Previously, a jury in New York City on May 9 concluded that Mr. Trump must pay $5 million in damages for sexually abusing and then defaming former journalist Carroll, according to The New York Times .

A federal jury of six men and three women in Manhattan found that Ms. Carroll, 79, could not prove sufficiently that Mr. Trump raped her nearly 30 years ago in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, as she has long claimed.

However, the jury found that Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll, a lesser offense, according to The New York Times . In the verdict, the jury also found that Mr. Trump defamed Ms. Carroll in October 2022 when he posted a statement on the social media platform Truth Social calling the lawsuit she initiated "a 100% scam" and "a myth and a lie."

Former President Trump convicted of sexual abuse, ordered to pay $5 million in compensation

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