This is clearly a new pitfall for the Republican who dreams of regaining the American presidency in 2024. Donald Trump announced, this Thursday, June 8, to have been indicted by federal justice for his management of the archives of the White House . “The corrupt Biden administration has notified my attorneys that I have been charged, presumably in the bogus case of the boxes,” he wrote on his Truth Social network in reference to the boxes of documents he took with him. him leaving Washington. What exactly are we accusing him of? The Express make the point.
A first for a former president
The billionaire, whose Florida home was raided last summer by FBI agents looking for the records, said he was due in federal court in Miami on Tuesday. His lawyer Jim Trusty clarified on the CNN channel that his client would go to this summons, and that he was the subject of seven charges, in particular under a law on espionage which prohibits keeping classified documents in unauthorized and unsecured locations.
Donald Trump, who is now the first former president in the history of the United States to be indicted by federal justice, is also being prosecuted for obstruction of justice and perjury, he added.
A law dating from 1978
In January 2021, when he left the White House to settle in his luxurious residence in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump took entire boxes of files. A 1978 law, however, obliges any American president to transmit all of his emails, letters and other working documents to the National Archives.
A year later, after several reminders, he agreed to return 15 boxes, containing more than 200 classified documents. In a letter, his lawyers then assured that there were no others. After examination, the federal police had however estimated that he had not returned everything and that he still kept a lot in his club in Palm Beach. FBI agents went there on August 8, and seized around thirty other boxes, containing 11,000 documents, some of which were very sensitive, on Iran or China.
Strongly denouncing a media operation, his lawyers strongly criticized the FBI for the publication of a photo showing seized documents stamped with the words “Top Secret”, scattered on a carpet with a floral pattern.
A special prosecutor has been appointed
To silence accusations of conspiracy, Justice Minister Merrick Garland in November appointed a special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to oversee the investigation independently, as well as another into Donald Trump’s role in the assault. of the Capitol.
Another special prosecutor is investigating in parallel classified documents found earlier this year in a former office and at the home of Democratic President Joe Biden by his lawyers.
These embarrassing finds, along with others from ex-Vice President Mike Pence, allowed Donald Trump to downplay the seriousness of his conduct, even though Joe Biden has always cooperated with justice, voluntarily returning the documents, in much smaller numbers.
This file is however more serious, on the merits, than that of New York. And Donald Trump’s setbacks will probably not stop there. A Georgia state prosecutor, who has been investigating for months the pressure exerted by the Republican to try to change the result of the 2020 presidential election, must announce the result of her investigations by September.
Musk in support of Trump
After the announcement of his indictment, elected Republicans immediately closed ranks around him. “I stand, like all Americans who believe in the rule of law, with President Trump,” reacted the leader of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. “It’s a sad day for America,” added Jim Jordan, who heads its Judiciary Committee.
Without being so categorical, billionaire Elon Musk, increasingly present in the political arena, felt that there “seemed to be more interest in prosecuting Trump than other politicians”.
Democrats, on the other hand, welcomed the news, while warning against Donald Trump’s speech. “He’s going to try to instrumentalize this indictment for political gain, because winning the presidency may be his only way to avoid jail time,” said lawmaker Adam Schiff. In the United States, being charged and even sentenced for an offense or a crime does not prohibit being a candidate, elected or holding an official position.