The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, has been charged with improper handling of classified documents after he left the White House. The edition told in more detail with the BBC.
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Trump, 76, faces seven charges, including unauthorized possession of classified files, according to his lawyer. The charges have not yet been made public.
This is the second indictment against Trump, and if found guilty, he could face jail time.
He is currently running in the 2024 presidential race.
Legal experts say the indictment does not limit Trump's ability to run for president again.
On the subject: Trump wants the US to stop giving citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the country
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he is innocent and that he was subpoenaed in federal court in Miami, Florida on Tuesday, June 13, where he will be arrested and charges against him will be heard. Arrest, most likely, will be formal. Trump will come to the police, they will photograph him, take his fingerprints - formally at this time he is considered to be arrested. But then he will be released before trial.
“I never thought this could happen to the President of the United States,” he wrote.
He then added, “This is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. Our country is in serious decline, but together we will make America great again!”
Trump's attorney, Jim Trusty, said the president had received details of the allegations in a subpoena.
They include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and illegal possession of classified documents under the Espionage Act, he said.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to comment, and the indictment has not been made public.
An indictment is a document that sets out the details of the charges against a person. This document ensures that the person is notified of alleged criminal offences.
The Secret Service will meet with Trump's staff and his security staff to plan the 4th president's trip to the Miami courthouse.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has been reviewing evidence in the documents case since Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him to oversee the case in November 2022.
Last year, the Trump mansion in Florida's Mar-a-Lago was raided, resulting in the seizure of 11 documents, including about 000 marked "secret". Some of them were marked "top secret".
Reports recently surfaced that prosecutors obtained an audio recording of Trump admitting to having classified documents after he left the White House in January 2021.
US law prohibits federal officials, including the president, from taking or storing classified documents in unauthorized locations.
Legal experts say Trump will still be able to race for the White House.
"He can be charged as many times as he likes and that won't stop him from running," said David Super, professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Super noted that Trump could continue to run for office even if he is found guilty.
The real estate and reality TV mogul is currently the frontrunner among Republican candidates for the White House, according to polls.
When Trump sent a fundraising email with the subject line "BREAKING: INDICTED," several leading Republicans expressed their support for him.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it was "shameless for an incumbent to bring charges against a leading candidate who opposes him."
"Republicans in the House of Representatives will be held accountable for this brazen weaponization of power," he tweeted.
Trump's rival for the 2024 nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said: "For years, we've seen the law be applied unevenly by political affiliation. The DeSantis administration will hold the Justice Department accountable, eliminate political bias, and end the use of power as a weapon once and for all."
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Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also running, said he is "committed to pardoning Trump as soon as possible and restoring the rule of law to our country."
But another candidate, Asa Hutchinson, believes Trump's alleged actions "shouldn't define our nation or the Republican Party."
A separate investigation into Trump's role in the storming of the US Capitol is being overseen by Jack Smith, known as a hardened investigator.
In April of this year, Trump became the first president to be charged with a crime after pleading not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with paying money for silence to a pornstar.
He will appear in court in this case in New York next year. He also faces jail time in this case.
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