In a shocking turn of events, former President Donald Trump has been charged with seven federal offenses in the special counsel's investigation into the misuse of confidential documents.
According to Trump's lawyer Jim Trusty, the president is also accused of violating the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, falsifying or destroying data, conspiracy, and making false statements.
The special counsel is looking into how Trump handled sensitive information that was delivered to his Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, after he left the White House in 2021, as well as any potential interference in the inquiry and efforts by the government to recover the information.
On Truth Social, the former president claimed that the Justice Department had told him that he had been charged and that he had been "summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM."
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote.
Trusty said that although Trump's lawyers haven't seen the indictment yet, they obtained summons through email from the Justice Department on Thursday outlining the allegations.
The US Secret Service and US Marshals did not receive early knowledge of the indictment and were taken aback by Trump's statement on the internet, law enforcement officials said Thursday. This is a sign of how closely guarded the special counsel kept information of the indictment.
The Justice Department is transferring additional resources to Miami, according to officials, and law enforcement is currently rushing to be ready for the predicted court appearance scheduled for next week.
On Thursday, neither the Justice Department nor the special counsel released any statements to the media, and a spokeswoman declined to comment.
The federal prosecution is Trump's second criminal accusation of the year. The Manhattan district attorney filed 34 counts of corporate fraud against Trump in April.
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