Trump indictment alleges careless retention and showing off of gov’t secrets, plot to conceal docs
A 49-page indictment unsealed Friday by federal prosecutors in Miami paints a damning portrait of how former President Donald Trump allegedly retained batches of classified documents and enlisted a key aide, Walt Nauta, to move them around.
The federal indictment alleges Mr. Trump retained classified documents he was not entitled to, knowingly showed off sensitive documents to people without clearance in 2021 and obstructed investigators by moving documents from place to place and proposing they destroy some of the papers.
The indictment is the first leveled against a former U.S. president.
The indictment says Mr. Trump stored letters, news clippings and other mementos in boxes but also classified documents on weapons capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, among other sensitive issues.
The indictment says the documents were stored in various locations at Mar-a-Lago, including a ballroom, bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room.
At two points in 2021, Mr. Trump showed off sensitive documents to people who weren’t authorized to see them at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. The documents included a “plan of attack” and, in a later incident, a map of a military operation that he allegedly showed to a member of his political action committee.
DOCUMENT: United States v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta
The president said he should not be showing it too close to the representative, according to prosecutors.
The indictment includes 31 counts of willful retention of documents and a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
