By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump faces a new legal challenge – this time from the government he used to lead – with charges of illegally retaining classified documents, obstruction and other crimes expected to be unveiled next week in federal court in Miami.
The indictment of a former U.S. president on federal charges is unprecedented in American history, and comes as Trump is also the front-runner of his party for the Republican presidential nomination next year.
Trump faces seven criminal counts related to his treatment of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Investigators seized roughly 13,000 documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, nearly a year ago. One hundred were marked as classified, even though one of Trump’s lawyers had previously said all records with classified markings had been returned to the government.
Trump has previously said he declassified those documents while president, but his attorneys have declined to make that argument in court filings.
“I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, after he announced that he had been indicted.
Trump lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN the charges include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and illegally retaining classified documents under the Espionage Act. He said he expects to see the charging document by Tuesday, when Trump is due in court.
Trump is the first current or former president to face criminal charges.
It is the second criminal case for Trump, who is due to go on trial in New York next March in a state case stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star.
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Trump’s legal woes have not dented his popularity with Republican voters, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. His main rivals have so far lined up behind him to criticize the case as politically motivated.
Trump served as president from 2017 to 2021, and he has shown an uncanny ability to weather controversies that might torpedo other politicians. He describes himself as the victim of a witch hunt and accuses the Justice Department of partisan bias.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is heading the investigation, is leading a second criminal probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
He has been given a degree of independence from Justice Department leadership to pursue the politically sensitive cases.
Trump also faces a separate criminal probe in Georgia related to efforts to overturn his loss to Biden in that state.
Smith convened grand juries in both Washington and Miami to hear evidence, but has opted to bring the case in the politically competitive state of Florida, rather than the U.S. capital, where any jury would likely be heavily Democratic.
Under federal law, defendants have a right to be charged where the activity in question took place. A Florida prosecution, legal experts say, could head off a drawn-out legal challenge from Trump’s team over the proper venue.
It is unknown at this point which judge would handle the case — a crucial factor that will determine, among other things, when a trial will take place.
The Republican state-by-state presidential nominating contest kicks off early next year, and the party is due to choose its nominee for the November 2024 election in July of that year.
If Trump is elected president again, he would have the power to derail any federal case against him, though he would not have the ability to derail state cases.
Trump is not the only top government official to draw scrutiny for retaining classified documents.
Attorneys for Biden and for Trump’s then-vice president, Mike Pence, have said the Justice Department is also looking into their handling of sensitive papers they retained after leaving office.
Biden’s documents dated back to his tenure in the U.S. Senate and as vice president. The Justice Department last week closed its investigation into Pence without filing any charges.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Lincoln Feast and Chizu Nomiyama)
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