Again, Trump indicted in classified documents probe
Donald Trump said Thursday he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the US ex-president’s most serious legal threat yet as a firestorm of criminal investigations imperil his bid for a second White House term.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social as he broke what would be bombshell news of a historic moment for the United States: the first time a sitting or former commander-in-chief has ever faced federal charges.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Justice Department regarding Trump’s assertion, although some US media outlets including The New York Times cited sources saying that Trump has been indicted.
In his post, Trump, who is running for president again, said he has been summoned to a federal courthouse Tuesday in Miami.
“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” he wrote.
Trump was charged with seven counts, people familiar with the matter told the Times. They include willfully retaining national defense secrets, making false statements and an obstruction of justice conspiracy.
Trump, who turns 77 next week, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
His announcement came a day after US media said federal prosecutors have informed the former president’s lawyers that he is the target of the probe into his handling of classified documents.
He was already the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime — in his case over election-eve hush money payments to a porn star who said she had an affair with him. That indictment, handed down by Manhattan’s district attorney, came down in March.
In a statement after his initial online posts, the Trump campaign lashed out at what it called an “unprecedented abuse of power” and called for the indictment to be thrown out.
Trump “has long been the biggest threat and the top political target for Joe Biden and the corrupt Democrat Party,” his campaign said in a statement.
“Today’s act of open legal ‘warfare’ by the highly politicized and partisan Department of Injustice, has taken things to a new level, and set a dangerous precedent.
His allies in Congress swiftly rallied to his defense, including Congressman Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
“It’s a sad day for America. God bless President Trump,” he said in a statement. Punch
