Tobias Sylvester
Former US President, Donald Trump has been indicted on seven counts in the special counsel’s classified documents probe, making him the first former president to face federal charges.
Trump’s attorney, Jim Trusty told CNN on Thursday that the ex-president is facing charges under the Espionage Act, as well as charges of obstruction of justice, destruction or falsification of records, conspiracy, and false statements.
The special counsel has been investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents that were taken to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he left the White House. They are also examining possible obstruction of the investigation and government efforts to recover the material.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed that he had been informed of the indictment by the Justice Department and was “summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.”
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote.
However, Trusty clarified that Trump’s attorneys received a summons via email listing the charges but have not yet seen the indictment. He criticized the Espionage Act charge as “ludicrous.”
The announcement of the indictment caught law enforcement officials off guard, as the Secret Service and US Marshals were not given advance notice. They are now scrambling to prepare for Trump’s expected court appearance in Miami next week Tuesday.
The federal indictment is the second time that Trump has been charged criminally this year. In April, the Manhattan district attorney charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business.
Trump is currently running for president again in 2024 while simultaneously facing criminal charges in two jurisdictions – and with two additional investigations into his conduct still underway.
The charges against Trump come just seven months since Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel after Trump announced he was running for president, in order to keep the investigation independent from the Biden Justice Department.
Now, Donald Trump will face federal charges from the special counsel while campaigning against President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election.
KanyiDaily had also reported how a New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump over “hush money” payments made to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, during his 2016 campaign.
