- The US judiciary accuses former President Donald Trump of conspiracy to obstruct investigations in the affair of secret government documents.
- This emerges from the indictment against the Republican, which has now been published.
- A total of seven categories of offenses are listed, he is charged with 37 crimes.
Among other things, Trump is accused of intentionally storing national defense information. This point falls under the US espionage law and can be punished with up to ten years imprisonment.
The indictment shows the scope and gravity of the allegations against Trump, special counsel Jack Smith said at a media conference. He also recalled the presumption of innocence and promised Trump a “speedy trial”.
Secret documents near party guests
The background is the affair surrounding Trump’s handling of secret government documents after he left the White House. The indictment states that some of the boxes of intelligence documents were temporarily stored in a room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate where public events were held.
Legend:
Some of the documents found during the house search (08/30/22)
US Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERS
A June 2020 document seized from Trump contained information on another country’s nuclear capabilities.
Legend:
Aerial view of the Mar-a-Lago property (03/01/20)
IMAGO / MediaPunch
In August last year, the federal police FBI searched Trump’s private property Mar-a-Lago in Florida and confiscated numerous classified documents, some with the highest classification level. Because the Republican kept the documents in his private home long after he left the presidency, he could have committed a criminal offense.
After Trump officially announced in November that he would run again in the 2024 election, the Justice Department appointed independent special counsel Smith to outsource the politically sensitive investigation into Trump.
Just one of several legal proceedings
Now came the historical indictment. It is the first time a federal indictment has been filed against a former US President. Trump had already been charged at the state level in New York in April in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. In a civil proceeding a few weeks ago, he was held responsible for a sexual assault in court. So far, the allegations in connection with the documents have weighed the most heavily from a legal point of view.
Legend:
Special Counsel Jack Smith (1/10/20)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
However, other cases are being investigated against Trump in connection with his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. So further charges could possibly follow – and they could also be dangerous for him.