Former President Donald J. Trump (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Donald Trump has been charged in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, reports say.
He faces seven counts, including, in part, willful withholding of national defense information, concealment of documents by bribery, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements, the court said. ABC reporter Katherine Faulders. tweeted, citing sources. Trump said he was due in federal court in Miami at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
In an article on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said his attorneys were told he was charged in what he called a “Boxes Hoax.”
“The corrupt Biden administration informed my lawyers that I have been charged, apparently for the box hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 boxes at the University of Delaware, additional boxes in Chinatown, DC, with even more of boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn across the floor of his garage where he parks his Corvette, and which is “secured” only by a paper-thin garage door that is open most of the time.
The case stems from the FBI’s discovery of dozens of empty folders with “classified” banners during a search of Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago.
Federal prosecutors say FBI agents seized those documents at Mar-a-Lago. The contents of the documents have been redacted with white squares. (Image via Federal Court filing from August 31, 2022.)
A receipt describing the documents in broad strokes added a layer of mystery to what happened to the more than 100 classified documents authorities seized from Trump’s primary residence in August.
Earlier, Trump’s attorneys received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith informing the former president that he was the “target” of a criminal investigation, reportedly the Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents case.
When Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel, he gave him the power to investigate “whether any person or entity violated the law in efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power after the 2020 Presidential Election or Electoral College Certification. vote held on or about January 6, 2021, and any matters that directly arise or may arise from such investigation or that fall within the scope of 28 CFR § 600.4(a).
The appointing order also authorized Smith to investigate the Florida-based Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Trump’s attorneys met with Smith at the DOJ on Monday and a targeted letter related to the Mar-a-Lago case.
As recently as May 23, Trump published a letter on Truth Social from his lawyers to Merrick Garland. In that letter, they requested a “meeting” to “discuss the continuing injustice perpetrated by your special advocate and his prosecutors.”
Law&Crimes Matt Naham and Adam Klasfeld contributed to this report.
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