Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with his handling of secret government documents after his presidency. Trump himself confirmed this on his social media platform Truth Social. It is the first time in United States history that a federal indictment has been filed against a former president.
“I have been charged, apparently because of the Box HoaxTrump writes on Truth Social. “I never thought it possible that something like this could happen to a former president of the United States.” Furthermore, Trump emphasizes several times, and in capitals, that he is an innocent man.
Federal prosecutors say Trump took more than 100 confidential government documents to his private residence in Mar-a-Lago after his presidency. At least eighteen of these documents were classified as ‘top secret’. In total, when the agency raided his home in August of last year, the FBI seized at least 13,000 documents.
Obstruction of justice
Trump is charged with obstruction of justice, among other things, because he and his team of lawyers would have deliberately tried to prevent all documents from returning to the authorities. A total of seven charges have been filed against Trump, writes AP news agency based on two anonymous sources at the Ministry of Justice.
Earlier this year, Trump, who is seen as the favorite to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, was already charged with falsifying documents, but that was an investigation within the state of New York. That case involves 34 charges, with Trump denying that he has broken the law on all counts.