federal indictment of Donald J. Trump (documents case)

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federal indictment of Donald J. Trump (documents case)

Written by Tracy Grant, J.E. LueberingSee All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 10, 2024 • Article History

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Donald Trump
U.S. Pres. Donald Trump posing for his official portrait at the White House, Washington, D.C., October 6, 2017.

In June 2023 Donald J. Trump became the first former U.S. president to be indicted by a federal grand jury. The 37-count indictment, filed by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, relates to the alleged mishandling of classified documents that were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The 49-page indictment, which includes charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements to the government, was released publicly after Trump announced the indictment on social media.

In addition, the former president was indicted in March 2023 in the New York State Supreme Court on charges of allegedly falsifying New York business records to conceal damaging information from American voters. The charges related to a payment made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels in advance of the 2016 presidential election to keep her from publicly claiming that Trump had had an extramarital affair with her.

To read the full transcript of the original federal indictment related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents, click here. In July 2023 a superseding indictment was filed, adding three more charges. To read the updated federal indictment, click here.

In August 2023 Trump was indicted on charges that he illegally sought to overturn the lawful election of Joe Biden as president in 2020.

Tracy Grant J.E. Luebering