Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, has been indicted by the Biden-appointed Special Counsel in a classified documents case. Trump sent out a fundraising email announcing the indictment, claiming that he had the right to declassify the documents as President. He also alleged that the FBI raided his home and staged it to look like a made-for-TV crime scene. Trump’s lawyers were informed of the indictment, and he has been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami. Trump argued that he is an innocent man and that he never thought such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States.
The federal investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents shows few signs of an imminent conclusion, while the probes into former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump have reached or appear to be reaching an end. Biden’s advisers have determined that he would provide an interview to the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents once the president’s legal team and the Justice Department agree on the conditions. Several Republican senators held back on weighing in on a potential indictment of Trump when asked by NBC News.
Experts tell NBC News that there are significant legal reasons for prosecutors to charge Trump in Florida. Part of the move south might be because the special counsel is considering charging Trump or those around him with obstruction of justice. Generally in the federal system, prosecutors can bring an obstruction of justice case in the district in which the investigation being obstructed originated. In this Trump matter, that’s D.C. But there was a court decision in D.C. that essentially says prosecutors must bring an obstruction case where the obstructive acts occurred. In the Trump case, those acts allegedly happened in Florida.
Keywords: Donald Trump, indictment, classified documents, Biden, investigation, obstruction of justice, Florida.