Donald Trump said Thursday that he was indicted for mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if he’s convicted.
The Justice Department did not immediately publicly confirm the indictment. But two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly said Trump’s team had been informed that he had been indicted on seven counts and that prosecutors had contacted lawyers to advise them of the indictment shortly before Trump announced it himself on his Truth Social platform.
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America,” Trump posted. “We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!”
Within 20 minutes of his announcement, Trump, who said he was due in court Tuesday afternoon in Miami, had begun fundraising off it for his 2024 presidential campaign.
The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges. As the prosecution moves forward, it will pit Trump’s claims of sweeping executive power against Attorney General Merrick Garland’s oft-stated mantra that no person, including a former commander in chief, should be regarded as above the law.
The indictment arises from a monthslong investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump broke the law by holding onto hundreds of documents marked classified at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, and whether Trump took steps to obstruct the government’s efforts to recover the records.
Jon Elswick, Associated Press
Pages from a Department of Justice court filing on Aug. 30, 2022, in response to a request from the legal team of former President Donald Trump for a special master to review the documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago, are photographed early Aug. 31, 2022.
Prosecutors have said that Trump took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including some 100 that were seized by the FBI last August in a search of the home that underscored the gravity of the Justice Department’s investigation.
Trump and his team have long seen the special counsel investigation as far more perilous than the New York matter — both politically and legally. Campaign aides had been bracing for the fallout since Trump’s attorneys were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it was not a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.
But it remains unclear what the immediate and long-term political consequences will be for Trump. His first indictment spurred millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and didn’t damage Trump in the polls. No matter what, the indictment — and the legal fight that follows — will throw Trump back into the spotlight, sucking attention away from the other candidates who are trying to build momentum in the 2024 presidential race.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump opponent in the primary, condemned the indictment on Twitter, saying it represented “the weaponization of federal law enforcement.”
Trump has insisted he was entitled to keep the classified documents when he left the White House, and has also claimed without evidence that he had declassified them.
The former president has long sought to use mounting legal troubles to his political advantage, complaining on social media and at public events that the cases are being driven by Democratic prosecutors out to hurt his 2024 election campaign. He is likely to rely on that playbook again, reviving his longstanding claims that the Justice Department — which, during his presidency, investigated whether his 2016 campaign had colluded with Russia — is somehow weaponized against him.
The case is a milestone for a Justice Department that had investigated Trump for years — as president and private citizen — but had never before charged him with a crime. Garland was appointed by President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection in 2024.
Among the various state and federal investigations that Trump faces, legal experts — including Trump’s own former attorney general — had long seen the Mar-a-Lago probe as one of the most likely to result in indictment and the one where evidence seemed to favor the government.
Court records unsealed last year showed federal investigators believed they had probable cause that multiple crimes had been committed, including the retention of national defense information, destruction of government records and obstruction of an investigation.
Since then, the Justice Department has amassed additional evidence and secured grand jury testimony from people close to Trump, including his own lawyers. The statutes governing the handling of classified records and obstruction are felonies that could carry years in prison in the event of a conviction.
Signs had mounted for weeks that an indictment was near, including a June 5 meeting between Trump’s lawyers and Justice Department officials. After that meeting, Trump said on social media that he anticipated he could be charged, even as he insisted he had done nothing wrong.
Though the bulk of the investigative work had been handled in Washington, with a grand jury meeting there for months, it recently emerged that prosecutors were presenting evidence before a separate panel in Florida, where many of the alleged acts of obstruction scrutinized by prosecutors — including efforts to move the boxes — took place.
Trump’s legal troubles extend beyond the New York indictment and classified documents case.
The special counsel has a separate probe underway focused on efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the district attorney in Georgia’s Fulton County is investigating Trump over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election in that state.
The classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, along with thousands of other unclassified government records, were taken from the White House to the Florida club after Trump left office in January 2021.
The Justice Department has said Trump and his lawyers repeatedly resisted efforts by the National Archives and Records Administration to get the documents back. After months of back-and-forth, Trump representatives returned 15 boxes of records in January 2022, including about 184 documents that officials said had classified markings on them.
FBI and Justice Department investigators issued a subpoena in May 2022 for classified documents that remained in Trump’s possession. But after a Trump lawyer provided three dozen records and asserted that a diligent search of the property had been done, officials came to suspect even more documents remained.
They obtained surveillance footage boxes of records being moved from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago.
The investigation had simmered for months before bursting into front-page news in remarkable fashion last August. That’s when FBI agents served a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago and removed 33 boxes containing classified records, including top-secret documents stashed in a storage room and desk drawer and commingled with personal belongings. Some records were so sensitive that investigators needed upgraded security clearances to review them, the Justice Department has said.
The investigation into Trump had appeared complicated — politically, if not legally — by the discovery of documents with classified markings in the Delaware home and former Washington office of President Joe Biden, as well as in the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence. The Justice Department recently informed Pence that he would not face charges, while a second special counsel continues to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Trump indictment intensifies legal woes; here are the other investigations he has to worry about
But compared with Trump, there are key differences in the facts and legal issues surrounding Biden’s and Pence’s handling of documents, including that representatives for both men say the documents were returned as soon as they were found.
In contrast, investigators quickly zeroed on whether Trump, who for four years as president expressed disdain for the FBI and Justice Department, had sought to obstruct the inquiry by refusing to turn over all the requested documents. The focus on obstruction was reminiscent of the special counsel investigation Trump faced as president, when prosecutors examined whether Trump illegally tried to thwart the Russia probe, including by firing his FBI director.
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Donald Trump’s call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
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The overclassification of government documents has been a hotly debated issue since the 1980s. In 2004, Congress held a hearing titled "Too Many Secrets: Overclassification as a barrier to critical information sharing," which advocated for more conscientious practices to determine what information should be protected at different levels.
At the federal level, there are three levels of classification: "Top Secret," "Secret," and "Confidential." "Top Secret" is the highest level of classification and constitutes information that would be expected to cause "exceptionally grave damage" to U.S. national security. The potential damage of leaked information is supposed to decrease as documents are classified as "Secret" or "Confidential," respectively.
Most recently, the problem of document overclassification has been brought to the forefront by investigations into a number of document scandals centered around former president Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence, and President Joe Biden. A variety of people, including a former special counsel, have spoken out against the overclassification of documents amidst the discovery of classified documents at each of the leaders' respective residences, primarily because of the seemingly accidental nature of both Pence and Biden's situations (and despite the more fraught circumstances concerning Trump). The situation has reached a point where the National Archives has requested all former presidents and vice presidents check their homes and personal records for potentially classified documents.
In light of these discussions, Stacker investigated the nature of the Trump, Biden, and Pence classified document scandals using a variety of news and government sources. Keep reading to see what these scandals have in common and how they differ.
Canva
The overclassification of government documents has been a hotly debated issue since the 1980s. In 2004, Congress held a hearing titled "Too Many Secrets: Overclassification as a barrier to critical information sharing," which advocated for more conscientious practices to determine what information should be protected at different levels.
At the federal level, there are three levels of classification: "Top Secret," "Secret," and "Confidential." "Top Secret" is the highest level of classification and constitutes information that would be expected to cause "exceptionally grave damage" to U.S. national security. The potential damage of leaked information is supposed to decrease as documents are classified as "Secret" or "Confidential," respectively.
Most recently, the problem of document overclassification has been brought to the forefront by investigations into a number of document scandals centered around former president Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence, and President Joe Biden. A variety of people, including a former special counsel, have spoken out against the overclassification of documents amidst the discovery of classified documents at each of the leaders' respective residences, primarily because of the seemingly accidental nature of both Pence and Biden's situations (and despite the more fraught circumstances concerning Trump). The situation has reached a point where the National Archives has requested all former presidents and vice presidents check their homes and personal records for potentially classified documents.
In light of these discussions, Stacker investigated the nature of the Trump, Biden, and Pence classified document scandals using a variety of news and government sources. Keep reading to see what these scandals have in common and how they differ.
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Donald Trump’s call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
Joe Raedle // Getty Images
Each of these scandals has been spread out during the course of 2022 and early 2023. In January 2022, after Trump had left office, more than 11,000 documents were found at his properties at Mar-a-Lago. At least 300 of those documents have been identified as classified in some way. The documents include a wide variety of information but reportedly contain intelligence about both military and nuclear issues.
In sharp contrast, both Biden and Pence were found in possession of a dozen or fewer classified documents. The documents found at Biden's home in Delaware and other official offices outside of the White House were discovered in November 2022 and their contents are currently under investigation. Similarly, Pence was found to have classified documents at his home in January 2023 and the information contained in them is still being identified.
Joe Raedle // Getty Images
Each of these scandals has been spread out during the course of 2022 and early 2023. In January 2022, after Trump had left office, more than 11,000 documents were found at his properties at Mar-a-Lago. At least 300 of those documents have been identified as classified in some way. The documents include a wide variety of information but reportedly contain intelligence about both military and nuclear issues.
In sharp contrast, both Biden and Pence were found in possession of a dozen or fewer classified documents. The documents found at Biden's home in Delaware and other official offices outside of the White House were discovered in November 2022 and their contents are currently under investigation. Similarly, Pence was found to have classified documents at his home in January 2023 and the information contained in them is still being identified.
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Donald Trump’s call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
Mandel Ngan - AFP via Getty Images
In Trump's case, the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were only discovered because the National Archives identified vast swaths of missing documents from its files. After realizing this, the Archives reached out to Trump and his team to recoup the documents and asked for their safe return to Washington, D.C. Trump refused this course of action, causing an active effort to regain the documents without the former president's compliance.
Both Biden and Pence's documents were discovered by members of their respective staffs. Those staff members brought the classified documents forward and almost immediately went public with the information. All involved parties have willingly complied with investigations into what the documents contain and how they came to be at an unauthorized location.
Mandel Ngan - AFP via Getty Images
In Trump's case, the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were only discovered because the National Archives identified vast swaths of missing documents from its files. After realizing this, the Archives reached out to Trump and his team to recoup the documents and asked for their safe return to Washington, D.C. Trump refused this course of action, causing an active effort to regain the documents without the former president's compliance.
Both Biden and Pence's documents were discovered by members of their respective staffs. Those staff members brought the classified documents forward and almost immediately went public with the information. All involved parties have willingly complied with investigations into what the documents contain and how they came to be at an unauthorized location.
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Donald Trump’s call for protests gets muted reaction by supporters
Chip Modevilla // Getty
All three of these cases are actively being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Trump is liable to incur a number of charges based on his document scandal, including possible obstruction for delaying the return of the documents to the National Archives. He may also face charges for the purposeful mishandling of government secrets. Given the information known about Pence and Biden's situations, it is unlikely that either of them will face charges, as legal action typically requires willful intent in these cases, and both Pence and Biden seemed to have accidentally brought classified documents to unauthorized locations.
Chip Modevilla // Getty
All three of these cases are actively being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Trump is liable to incur a number of charges based on his document scandal, including possible obstruction for delaying the return of the documents to the National Archives. He may also face charges for the purposeful mishandling of government secrets. Given the information known about Pence and Biden's situations, it is unlikely that either of them will face charges, as legal action typically requires willful intent in these cases, and both Pence and Biden seemed to have accidentally brought classified documents to unauthorized locations.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump's transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported.
Prior to shipping, GSA said it "required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida."
GSA did not examine the contents of the boxes and "had no knowledge of the contents prior to shipping," according to an agency spokesperson. GSA was also not responsible for the former president's personal belongings, which were transported by a private moving company.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal property — not private — and are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location.
AP file
Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump's transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported.
Prior to shipping, GSA said it "required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida."
GSA did not examine the contents of the boxes and "had no knowledge of the contents prior to shipping," according to an agency spokesperson. GSA was also not responsible for the former president's personal belongings, which were transported by a private moving company.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal property — not private — and are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
After NARA realized that documents from Trump's presidency seemed to be missing from the material that it received as he left office, the agency requested the records from Trump on or about May 6, 2021, according to a heavily redacted affidavit made public Aug. 26, 2022.
AP file
After NARA realized that documents from Trump's presidency seemed to be missing from the material that it received as he left office, the agency requested the records from Trump on or about May 6, 2021, according to a heavily redacted affidavit made public Aug. 26, 2022.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The special agent in charge of NARA's Office of the Inspector General sent a referral to the Justice Department via email after a preliminary review of the boxes revealed numerous classified documents.
"Of most significant concern," they wrote, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit released last week, "was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified."
After an initial review of the NARA referral, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
AP file
The special agent in charge of NARA's Office of the Inspector General sent a referral to the Justice Department via email after a preliminary review of the boxes revealed numerous classified documents.
"Of most significant concern," they wrote, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit released last week, "was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified."
After an initial review of the NARA referral, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Trump's Save America PAC released a statement insisting the return of the documents had been as "routine" and "no big deal."
Trump insisted the "papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis," and added, "It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
AP file
Trump's Save America PAC released a statement insisting the return of the documents had been as "routine" and "no big deal."
Trump insisted the "papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis," and added, "It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The Justice Department sent a letter to Trump's lawyers seeking immediate access to the material, citing "important national security interest."
"Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps," the department wrote.
Trump's lawyers requested an additional extension.
AP file
The Justice Department sent a letter to Trump's lawyers seeking immediate access to the material, citing "important national security interest."
"Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps," the department wrote.
Trump's lawyers requested an additional extension.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney went to Mar-a-Lago to collect additional material offered by a Trump attorney in response to the subpoena. They were given "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents," according to an Aug. 30 filing.
That envelope, it was later found, contained 38 documents with classification markings, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret.
During the visit, the filing said, "Counsel for the former President offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the Premises nearly five months after the production of the Fifteen Boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the Administration."
Trump's lawyers also told investigators that all of the records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago storage room. Investigators were permitted to visit the room, but were "explicitly prohibited" from opening or looking inside any of the boxes, they reported, "giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained."
The Justice Department was also given a signed certification letter stating that a "diligent search" had been completed and that no documents remained.
AP file
Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney went to Mar-a-Lago to collect additional material offered by a Trump attorney in response to the subpoena. They were given "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents," according to an Aug. 30 filing.
That envelope, it was later found, contained 38 documents with classification markings, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret.
During the visit, the filing said, "Counsel for the former President offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the Premises nearly five months after the production of the Fifteen Boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the Administration."
Trump's lawyers also told investigators that all of the records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago storage room. Investigators were permitted to visit the room, but were "explicitly prohibited" from opening or looking inside any of the boxes, they reported, "giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained."
The Justice Department was also given a signed certification letter stating that a "diligent search" had been completed and that no documents remained.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The Justice Department filed an application for a search and seizure warrant of Mar-a-Lago, citing "probable cause" that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained in various parts of the club.
"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would be found, read the heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for the search.
The Justice Department also revealed in the Aug. 30 filing that it had found evidence "that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in South Florida approved the application that same day.
AP file
The Justice Department filed an application for a search and seizure warrant of Mar-a-Lago, citing "probable cause" that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained in various parts of the club.
"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would be found, read the heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for the search.
The Justice Department also revealed in the Aug. 30 filing that it had found evidence "that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in South Florida approved the application that same day.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
The FBI executed the search at Mar-a-Lago, seizing 36 items of evidence, including boxes and containers holding more than 100 classified records, an order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone and information about the "President of France."
Agents found classified documents both in the storage room as well as in the former president's office — including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in office desks.
They included items so sensitive that, "In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents."
"That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the 'diligent search' that the former President's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter," the Justice Department wrote.
Trump and his allies, meanwhile, cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system aimed at damaging him politically as he prepares for another potential White House run.
AP file
The FBI executed the search at Mar-a-Lago, seizing 36 items of evidence, including boxes and containers holding more than 100 classified records, an order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone and information about the "President of France."
Agents found classified documents both in the storage room as well as in the former president's office — including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in office desks.
They included items so sensitive that, "In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents."
"That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the 'diligent search' that the former President's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter," the Justice Department wrote.
Trump and his allies, meanwhile, cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system aimed at damaging him politically as he prepares for another potential White House run.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago, which details that federal agents were investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
AP file
Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago, which details that federal agents were investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
AP file
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago was released.
AP file
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago was released.
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Empty folders marked classified among items found in FBI search of Trump home
Department of Justice via AP
The Justice Department responded to Trump's request for a special master in a filing that included new details about the investigation, including an assertion that classified documents were "likely concealed and removed" from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the probe.
It included a photograph of some the material found at the club, including cover pages of paperclip-bound documents — some marked as "TOP SECRET//SCI" with bright yellow borders and one marked as "SECRET//SCI" with a rust-colored border — splayed out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump responded. "Thought they wanted them kept Secret?"
Department of Justice via AP
The Justice Department responded to Trump's request for a special master in a filing that included new details about the investigation, including an assertion that classified documents were "likely concealed and removed" from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the probe.
It included a photograph of some the material found at the club, including cover pages of paperclip-bound documents — some marked as "TOP SECRET//SCI" with bright yellow borders and one marked as "SECRET//SCI" with a rust-colored border — splayed out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump responded. "Thought they wanted them kept Secret?"
