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Donald Trump described a “plan of attack” devised by the Pentagon and shared a classified military map with a member of his political action committee who didn’t have a security clearance, the 37-count indictment against the former president shows. The indictment was unsealed on Friday afternoon. More follows...

Former president Donald Trump showed highly-classified information to unauthorised persons on two separate occasions, according to a copy of the indictment against him that has been obtained by The Independent. The 49-page, 37-count indictment was unsealed on Friday after Mr Trump released a series of social media posts revealing that he has been indicted by a grand jury under supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith. The indictment details the charges against Mr Trump and Walter Nauta, a former US Navy noncommissioned officer who left government service to work for Mr Trump after his term ended in January 2021. It also lays out the two instances on which Mr Trump showed classified documents to unauthorised persons at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club. The first, in July 2021, was during an interview with a writer and a publisher who were working on a book by his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows. According to the indictment, Mr Trump showed the writer, the book publisher, and two staff members who lacked security clearances a “plan of attack” put together by General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had recently been reported as criticising Mr Trump by the New Yorker. The second instance involved a classified map of an unnamed country, and staff working for Mr Trump’s political action committee. The indictment states that Mr Trump acknowledged that he lacked the authorization to show the documents at issue to the people who were present for both incidents. According to the indictment, the 37 charges against Mr Trump and Mr Nauta include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations. More follows... Read More Rep. Santos says he's protecting family members by seeking to keep bond cosigners secret DoJ unseals Trump classified papers indictment as aide also faces charges - live Trump ‘body man’ Walt Nauta has been indicted alongside ex-president

Donald Trump immediately started to fundraise off his fresh indictment on seven counts in the federal probe into his handling of classified information. Mr Trump is set to appear in court on Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami. If convicted, he could face a sentence of more than a century in prison. “This is nothing but a disgusting act of Election Interference by the ruling party to ELIMINATE its opposition and amass total control over our country,” Mr Trump wrote in a message to supporters. “The Deep State thought they had destroyed our campaign when a Soros-backed prosecutor indicted and even ARRESTED me earlier this year,” Mr Trump added in reference to his arraignment in the New York hush-money case involving adult actor Stormy Daniels. “But then, we SHOCKED them as our campaign grew even stronger... We broke fundraising records. 3 independent polls showed us beating Joe Biden by 7 POINTS. In fact, polls show I’m the ONLY Republican who can beat Crooked Joe,” he added. “So, after a state prosecutor failed to break us, the Deep State sharpened their attacks and unleashed a FEDERAL prosecutor to TRY and take us down.” “But let me be as clear as possible: No matter how viciously they attack me, I will NEVER, EVER SURRENDER our country to the radical Left and I will NEVER end this presidential campaign that puts YOU first,” he said. The 45th president has now been indicted for the second time in less than three months. The new charges stem from his alleged illegal retention of national security information. It was Mr Trump himself who initially shared the news that he had been indicted again. He did so in several posts on his social media platform Truth Social the day after it was reported that federal prosecutors had planned to ask a grand jury to indict Mr Trump. “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Mr Trump wrote. “I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election,” he claimed, calling himself “an innocent man”. “This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” he wrote. The seven-count indictment reportedly includes one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of making false statements, and at least one count of unlawful retention of national defence information. Trump attorney James Trusty appeared on CNN on Thursday saying that one count in the indictment concerns a violation of Section 1512 of the US criminal code, which refers to witness tampering. The charges against Mr Trump come a few days after his legal team met with Justice Department officials as they failed to convince the authorities not to indict their client. The investigation began last year when the National Archives and Records Administration found more than 100 documents marked classified while going through 15 boxes taken from Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida residence.

Donald Trump made the stunning admission that he held onto “secret” military information that he hadn’t declassified. “As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Mr Trump said during the meeting in 2021 after he left office, according to a transcript obtained by CNN. In the meeting, Mr Trump spoke about a classified Defence Department document regarding a supposed attack on Iran. The recording was obtained by prosecutors, in which Mr Trump states that he didn’t declassify the document he’s speaking about. On Thursday, Mr Trump was indicted on seven counts in the probe led by special counsel Jack Smith into the ex-president’s handling of classified documents. The indictment hasn’t been made fully public, meaning it’s not clear if any of those charges relate to the recording from 2021. But the recording does show that Mr Trump was aware that the documents he had brought with him from the White House after leaving office on 20 January that year were still classified. In public, Mr Trump has argued that all of the files he took to Florida had been declassified and he has claimed that the investigation is a witch hunt and an attempt to hinder his 2024 campaign to return to the White House. It was reported last week that prosecutors had procured the audio recording, which was made in 2021 at Mr Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey resort with two individuals working on the autobiography of Mr Trump’s final White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in addition to aides to the former president, such as Marco Martin, a communications staffer. The transcript implies that Mr Trump is showing the document he’s speaking about during the conversation. CNN reported that several sources have said that the sound from the recording includes the rustling of papers, indicating that Mr Trump may have been moving the document around. But’s it’s not clear if it was the document regarding Iran. “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Mr Trump said. “This was done by the military and given to me.” At the time, Mr Trump was complaining about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. The meeting took place not long after a story published by The New Yorker outlined how Gen Milley told the Joint Chiefs during the last days of Mr Trump’s time in office to make sure that the then-president not give any illegal orders and that Gen Milley should be made aware if there were any concerns. “Well, with Milley – uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Mr Trump said, the transcript shows. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some. This was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him.” “All sorts of stuff – pages long, look. Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Mr Trump added. “Secret” and “confidential” are both degrees of classified information. Federal prosecutors have probed Mr Trump’s handling of classified information and his obstruction of the investigation. Mr Trump’s attorney said the 45th president was summoned by the Department of Justice to appear in court on Tuesday in Miami. Mr Smith, the Special Counsel, is also investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Mr Smith was appointed in November to lead the Department of Justice’s documents and election probes by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Donald Trump was indicted on seven charges relating to the storage of classified national defence documents dating from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The 45th president of the United States will now appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, his lawyer has since confirmed. Should he ultimately be convicted, he could face a maximum combined sentence of 100 years in prison. Following the latest dramatic development to place his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in jeopardy, Mr Trump insisted on Truth Social: “I am an innocent man”. “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” he seethed in a separate post. The Department of Justice has been investigating the potential violation of the Espionage Act for some time but has so far not made any comment on the indictment. Mr Trump’s rivals for the nomination have rallied behind him by criticising the “weaponisation of federal law enforcement”. One of those is Florida governor Ron DeSantis, whose campaign has meanwhile been accused of sharing fake AI images of Mr Trump embracing Dr Anthony Fauci, in the hope of discrediting him. Read More What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing Will Donald Trump be arrested and jailed after classified documents indictment? Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next

What do the transgender whistleblower Chelsea Manning, the 1950s Soviet spy Julius Rosenberg and former president Donald Trump all have in common? The answer, following the indictment arising from the discovery of classified documents at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, is that all four have been investigated under suspicion of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. When the FBI raided Mr Trump’s property last August, they were looking for items that might violate the Act, which regulates the handling of confidential documents relating to national security. Most often used against spies, whistleblowers and government employees who leak documents to journalists, the Espionage Act carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. So what exactly is Mr Trump being investigated for? A contentious law with roots in First World War paranoia The Espionage Act is a controversial and often contested law that dates from America’s entry into the First World War against Germany in 1917. Even before joining the conflict, President Woodrow Wilson had urged Congress to crack down on immigrant groups and radical political movements that he claimed had “poured the poison of disloyalty into the very arteries of our national life”. At the time, German-Americans were a large and influential ethnic group, with those born in Germany comprising 2.7 per cent of the US population and 18.5 per cent of the foreign-born population, according to the census of 1910. Over 27 per cent of the nation’s “foreign white stock” spoke German as their mother tongue. There were German-language schools, churches, and newspapers throughout the country, which faced backlash from English-speaking groups. Passed just two months after Wilson joined the war and bolstered one year later in 1918, the Espionage Act criminalised many forms of dissent against the war, leading to jail sentences against speech-makers, leafleteers, film-makers and newspaper editors. The act’s more radical provisions were dismantled after the war, but other parts remain in force – including those listed in Section 793 of the US Code of Laws, which bans citizens from leaking or mishandling information relating to “national defence”. Since then, the Act has been used to prosecute the Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, National Security Agency leakers Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning and various other people who leaked US government secrets to journalists, the public or other nation states. What does the Espionage Act ban? US Code Section 793 forbids various forms of obtaining, leaking or failing to properly look after “information respecting the national defence”. For example, it forbids anyone to acquire any information about US national security facilities if they intend or have reason to believe that the information might be used “to the injury of the United States or the advantage of any foreign nation”. The Act also bans people lawfully entrusted with defence information that could harm the US from giving it to any unauthorised person, or from “wilfully retaining” it and failing to deliver it “to the officer entitled to receive it”. Another provision, wider in scope, makes it a crime for anyone trusted with such information (such as presidents) to let it be “removed from its proper place of custody”, lost, stolen, or otherwise waylaid “through gross negligence”. The same provision requires officials who become aware of such an incident to “make prompt report to his superior officer”, although it is unclear who Mr Trump’s “superior officer” would be in this case. According to the search warrant issued to agents last summer, the FBI seized various boxes and folders described as including “miscellaneous secret documents” and “miscellaneous top secret documents”. What could happen to Donald Trump now? Mr Trump has claimed he is being wrongly persecuted since the investigation began, just as he did throughout his presidency when his election campaign’s possible ties to Russia were closely examined. “This raid of President Trump’s home was not just unprecedented, but unnecessary – and now they are leaking lies and innuendos to try to explain away the weaponisation of government against their dominant political opponent,” a spokesman said in response to August’s raid. In response to his indictment on Thursday (8 June), Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax. “I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” If he is ultimately prosecuted and convicted, Mr Trump could be fined or imprisoned for up to 10 years, as well as forfeiting any property bought with proceeds of the crime. A conviction could potentially prevent him from holding political office again, not only because of the reputational damage but because the Fourteenth Amendment to the US constitution bans candidates who “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against [the US], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”. When the Socialist German-American journalist and former congressman Victor Berger was elected to a second term in 1918, Congress refused to seat him because he had been sentenced to 20 years in jail under the Espionage Act. However, with Mr Trump’s Republican allies rallying to his defence – and promising to investigate the way the FBI have treated him – who knows where this saga could end? Read More Trump indictment – latest: Trump faces 100-year jail sentence as he declares ‘I am an innocent man’ Trump unleashes on ‘woke military’ and says America is ‘going to hell’ in bizarre Truth Social rant Read Trump’s furious reaction to indictment: ‘This is war’ Trump has been indicted again: These are the investigations he faces Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Former president Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said on Fox News that she is “ashamed” and “embarrassed” to be a lawyer after the former president was indicted. Ms Habba spoke on Jesse Watters’ show amid news that a federal grand jury indicted Mr Trump on charges related to his allegedly unlawful retention of national defence information. Mr Trump’s attorney said the indictment was a distraction from supposed impropriety on behalf of President Joe Biden, pointing to the fact that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer was planning to hold FBI Director Christoper Wray, whom Mr Trump nominated to lead the bureau in 2017, in contempt of Congress for supposedly withholding documents. House Republicans have so far come up short in their accusations against Mr Biden. Mr Comer retracted the contempt vote after the FBI agreed to share documents, The New York Timesreported. House Republicans have so far come up short in their accusations against Mr Biden. “Every single time there is a coordinated dance that is becoming obvious to the American people because they are smart,” Ms Habba said. The Trump attorney added that the indictments of the twice-impeached former president were the equivalent of a “shiny ball” meant to distract the American public. “I'm embarrassed to be a lawyer at this moment,” she said. “Honestly, I am ashamed. I'm ashamed to be a lawyer. I'm ashamed that this is the state of our country.” Ms Habba claimed the indictment showed the United States had a two-tiered system of justice. “And it is so obvious that there's this dual system of justice,” she said. “This is selective prosecution, selective persecution. It is absolute persecution. It is Russia third world stuff, and it should not be happening.” Mr Trump first broadcast the indictment on his Truth Social networking platform on Thursday, one day after The Independent had reported that federal prosecutors planned to ask a grand jury to indict Mr Trump. “I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election,” Mr Trump said, denying his guilt and proclaiming he is an “innocent man.” Mr Trump said he has been summoned to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday by 3 pm ET. Read More Trump indictment – latest: Trump faces 100-year jail sentence as he declares ‘I am an innocent man’ Trump unleashes on ‘woke military’ and says America is ‘going to hell’ in bizarre Truth Social rant Can Donald Trump run for president after being indicted? Read Trump’s furious reaction to indictment: ‘This is war’ Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted on seven charges related to his alleged unlawful retention of national defence information at his Palm Beach, Florida home. He is set to appear in federal court in Miami at 3pm ET on Tuesday. Writing on his Truth Social platform, the ex-president wrote: “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax”. The Department of Justice has been investigating Mr Trump for violating the Espionage Act and for obstruction of justice over the discovery of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, the latest setback to hit his 2024 presidential campaign. The DoJ has not made any comment on Mr Trump’s claims but reports are that the former president is facing seven charges in the case. The dramatic development comes as Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s former White House chief of staff, has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to several federal charges. Meanwhile, Republicans, including Mr Trump’s rivals from the party rallied behind the former president while criticising the “weaponisation of federal law enforcement”. Read More What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing Will Donald Trump be arrested and jailed after classified documents indictment? Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next

Elon Musk was derided on Twitter after he said there is “far higher” political interest in pursuing Donald Trump than other politicians after the former president was indicted for the second time. The Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter tech tycoon on Thursday called Mr Trump’s indictment “differential enforcement”, suggesting he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement based on political biases. “There does seem to be far higher interest in pursuing Trump compared to other people in politics,” Mr Musk said, reacting to a tweet by a pro-Trump user. “Very important that the justice system rebut what appears to be differential enforcement or they will lose public trust.” Mr Musk, who has declared his support to the Republican party, has courted several prominent right-wing figures in politics and media. Mr Musk also recently oversaw the launch of Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s official 2024 campaign announcement to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Following his takeover of Twitter last year, he had also reinstated suspended accounts of several controversial figures, including Mr Trump and other Republicans. Several users on Mr Musk’s platform commented sarcastically on his support for the twice impeached former president. “Could it be that they have evidence Trump committed crimes? It’s not a real endearing defense to cry out loud ‘what about’ my political adversaries?” a user Marc said. “Isn’t the rebuttal commonly known as a trial?” asked another user sarcastically. “Differential Treatment? Like when poor people get higher/worse sentences because they can’t afford representation?” another user asked. Twitter adviser and close associate of Mr Musk, David Sacks, also weighed in over Mr Trump’s indictment. He referred to allegations by officials that Joe Biden kept government documents in the garage of his Delaware home. “Trump has been indicted for keeping documents in his basement. Makes sense. Everyone knows you’re supposed to keep them in your Corvette,” Mr Shacks said. Mr Trump was indicted on charges of retaining classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence and obstruction of justice, according to a lawyer for the former US president. He is facing seven criminal counts in the federal case, including one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of making false statements and at least one count of unlawful retention of national defence information. The case by the Justice Department has come as another legal setback for Mr Trump, who seeks a return to the White House in 2024. This is the second indictment against Mr Trump after he faced charges over a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Mr Trump has claimed innocence in both cases. Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump says he’s ‘an innocent man’ as he faces seven charges in documents case Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president Obstruction, false statements and unlawfully retaining documents: The charges against Donald Trump Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Donald Trump is expected to face seven counts in a federal indictment stemming from the US Department of Justice investigation into his possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property. Federal prosecutors are expected to charge him with the willful retention of national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction and witness tampering. Mr Trump will surrender, face arrest, and be formally charged in US District Court in Miami, as soon as next week, after a federal grand jury believed there was enough evidence to bring charges against him. A potential sentence, if convicted, could include decades in prison. The exact charges against Mr Trump have not been announced, and it is unclear whether an indictment against him will remain sealed until it is formally presented in federal court. Mr Trump said he was due in federal court in Miami at 3pm ET on Tuesday 13 June. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and declared the investigations against him a “witch hunt”. An investigation from special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed to lead the Justice Department’s probe into the former president’s alleged mishandling of documents after leaving the White House, reportedly is looking into whether his lawyers falsely certified that he returned classified records to the government, or whether he concealed them, illegally, and lied to his legal team. Federal prosecutors are expected to present compelling evidence that the former president knowingly and deliberately misled his attorneys about his retention of sensitive documents after leaving the White House in January 2021 after losing his re-election bid. Unauthorised retention of national security documents The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination will face charges under the Espionage Act, which the Justice Department invoked against now-former National Security Agency translator Reality Winner while Mr Trump was president in 2018. Julian Assange and Daniel Hale also were charged under the Espionage Act in 2019. Mr Trump is now expected to face that same charge, according to his lawyer James Trusty. One of the six sections under the Espionage Act, Section 793, prohibits “gathering, transmitting or losing” any “information respecting the national defence”. The use of Section 793, which does not make reference to classified information, is understood to be a strategic decision by prosecutors that has been made to short-circuit the former president’s ability to claim that he used his authority as president to declassify documents he removed from the White House and kept at his Florida property long after his term expired on 20 January 2021. That section of US criminal law is written in a way that could encompass Mr Trump’s conduct even if he was authorised to possess the information as president. It states that anyone who “lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document … relating to the national defence” and “willfully” transmits such information in any way can face a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Obstruction A charge of obstruction in this case likely involves the “destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations.” In a case before a jury, federal prosecutors must prove whether Mr Trump knowingly retained documents under the National Archives and Records Administration’s custody, and willfully defied the Justice Department’s subpoena for classified documents in his possession. A conviction includes a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. An additional charge of conspiracy, which would need to include another person in order to commit a crime, could carry a sentence of five years. Making false statements Mr Trump could face additional charges for making false statements, or allowing his legal team to make false statements, if prosecutors determine that he lied to law enforcement about the documents in his possession at the subject of the subpoenas against him. That could include an additional five-year sentence, if convicted. Witness tampering Section 1512 under Title 18 includes a broad prohibition against tampering with a witness, victim or informant involved in a federal investigation. It applies to matters before Congress as well as federal agencies and civil and criminal judicial proceedings, including grand jury proceedings. A conviction includes a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal indictment against Mr Trump arrives days after a last-ditch attempt by his legal team to convince Justice Department officials against charging him. Investigators launched a probe early last year after officials with the National Archives and Records Administration discovered more than 100 documents bearing classification markings while reviewing 15 boxes retrieved from Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor at The Hague, as special counsel to lead the probe. An indictment serves as a formal accusation, among a prosecutor’s first steps before a case can be brought to trial. Grand jurors heard evidence and testimony brought forward from prosecutors and witnesses they chose to present. In a trial, a jury will hear from defence attorneys. Following Mr Trump’s formal indictment, prosecutors will share evidence with his legal team and likely begin motions to dismiss the case. Andrew Feinberg contributed reporting Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump says he’s ‘an innocent man’ as he faces seven charges in documents case Read Trump’s furious reaction to federal indictment in classified documents case Trump has been indicted again: Here are all of the major lawsuits and investigations he is facing

Former President Donald Trump released a four-plus minute video on Truth Social on Thursday decrying the “woke” military, spreading baseless conspiracy theories about electoral politics, and announcing that the United States is “going to hell” as he prepares to be indicted by the Justice Department. Mr Trump posted to the social media platform earlier on Thursday that will be indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency, and, as that post and the subsequent video show, he’s not happy with the news. “It’s election interference at the highest level,” Mr Trump said. There’s never been anything like what’s happened. I’m an innocent man, an innocent person.” That very much remains to be seen. Mr Trump, who earlier this year became the first ever former president to be indicted when he was charged in New York over his role in the alleged payment of hush money to adult film Stormy Daniels, is now facing even more legal trouble as he attempts to reclaim the White House next winter. In his video response to the news, Mr Trump aired a long list of familiar grievances — including that he is being persecuted because he has strong poll numbers and that all of the evidence complied against him is a “hoax.” “We’re leading against Biden by a lot, a tremendous amount,” Mr Trump said. “And we went up to a level where the figured the way they’re going to stop us is by using what’s called warfare. And that’s what it is. This is warfare for the law. And we can’t let it happen. We can’t let it happen. Our country is going to hell, and they come after Donald Trump.” Mr Trump’s rambling video also included a claim that the military was not “woke” when he was president — one of a number of purported accomplishments he lists. “When you look at what’s happened to our country in the last three years, we were energy independent, we had a military that wasn’t woke, we were doing so well, we were respected all over the world, we had the biggest tax cuts in history, biggest regulation cuts in history, and what do you do? You have a president where the election was taken,” Mr Trump said. The Justice Department has been building its case against Mr Trump for his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House since at least last summer, when FBI agents searched the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence and removed a number of potentially classified documents from the premises. Read More Trump news – live: Trump says he is ‘an innocent man’ as he’s being indicted over secret documents case

Former president Donald Trump on Thursday said his lawyers have been told he has been indicted on charges related to his alleged unlawful retention of national defence information at his Palm Beach, Florida home. Writing on his Truth Social platform, the ex-president wrote: “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax”. The ex-president followed the bombshell claim with a series of allegations against his successor in the White House, President Joe Biden, stemming from the discovery documents bearing classification markings at several locations linked to the sitting president. In a subsequent post, Mr Trump said he has been summoned to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, 13 June, at 3.00 pm ET. “I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election,” he said, adding that he is “an innocent man”. “This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” he added. More follows... Read More Trump says he is ‘an innocent man’ as he’s being indicted over secret documents case James Watt, sharp-tongued and pro-development Interior secretary under Reagan, dies at 85 Funeral director thought to be Capitol rioter dubbed ‘#BlackBonoHelmet’ is arrested