Former US president Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has been indicted in an investigation over his handling of classified documents.
His lawyer, Jim Trusty, confirmed in an interview with CNN that Mr Trump faces seven counts including obstruction of justice, making false statements, conspiracy and one charge stemming from an alleged breach of the Espionage Act, an allegation Mr Trusty described as “ludicrous”.
It is the first time in US history that a former president has faced federal charges.
“The corrupt Biden administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the boxes hoax,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trusty confirmed that Mr Trump had been ordered to appear at a federal court in Miami, Florida, on June 13 at 3pm local time.
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” Mr Trump wrote in another post.
He later released a four-minute video in which he sounded downbeat and tired.
“We are failing nation … I am an innocent man,” the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election said.
The new indictment is the second against Mr Trump. He pleaded not guilty to dozens of felonies in a New York state case over hush money payments he allegedly made during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The Department of Justice has been investigating Mr Trump's handling of classified documents he still had in his possession after his presidency ended in January 2020.
The National Archives and Records Administration, a federal agency overseeing government materials, had contacted Mr Trump's team several times requesting information on the whereabouts of certain files, to no avail.
As a result of the department believing Mr Trump still held classified documents, FBI agents conducted a court-approved search of his home and Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in August 2022.
Law enforcement found 182 documents with “confidential”, “secret” and “top secret” classified labels, which require some of the highest levels of security clearance to view.
Mr Trump repeatedly claimed that he did nothing wrong by taking files from the White House when he left office.
He also said that he “declassified” the documents, but there has been no evidence provided to show he had done so.
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A redacted FBI photograph of classified documents recovered from a container in former president Donald Trump's estate at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Reuters -
The FBI searched Mr Trump's home over what it said were 'likely' efforts to conceal classified files. AFP -
The Mar-a-Lago property was raided by agents on August 8. Reuters -
Pages from a Department of Justice court filing in response to a request from Mr Trump's legal team for a 'special master' to review the documents seized. AP -
Journalists read a heavily redacted court document relating to the FBI search. AP -
The former president condemned the raid as 'the weaponisation of the justice system'. AP -
Pages from a Department of Justice court filing, in response to a request from Mr Trump's legal team. AP -
Mr Trump had faced accusations of deleting private communications during investigations into his alleged role in the storming of the Capitol building on January 6 by his supporters. Reuters -
Mr Trump departs Trump Tower for a deposition two days after the FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago home. Reuters -
Pages of entirely redacted information in the released version of an affidavit from the US Justice Department that was submitted to a judge to support the execution of the FBI search warrant. Reuters -
Mr Trump was also accused of taking a trove of classified documents from the White House, leading to speculation that those missing documents could have been the focus of the raid. Reuters -
Mr Trump set up his Save America political action committee days after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. EPA -
A Trump supporter outside the Paul S Rogers Federal Building and US Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. AP -
Mr Trump reportedly had more than 300 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. AP -
US Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks about the FBI's search warrant. Reuters
President Joe Biden is being investigated over his possession of classified documents in a personal home and a Washington office, from his time as vice president and a senator.
Mr Trump's former vice president Mike Pence recently had his investigation closed for also having classified files in his home.
This year, Mr Trump became the first US president – sitting or former – to be criminally charged, in the New York hush money case.
He is facing federal investigations into his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his role in the violent insurrection by his supporters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Mr Trump could also be indicted in Georgia's inquiry into his alleged interference to change the state's 2020 election results.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted that Mr Biden had somehow personally indicted Mr Trump, even though the President has no such authority.
“House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponisation of power accountable,” Mr McCarthy said.
Mr Biden was asked earlier about whether Americans should trust the impartiality of the Justice Department.
“I have never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge,” Mr Biden said during a press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“I'm honest.”
