Trump indictment unsealed: Ex-president showed classified documents to unauthorised persons
Former President Donald Trump disclosed top secret information to unauthorized persons on two separate occasions, according to a copy of the indictment against him obtained by The Independent.
The 49-page, 37-count indictment was quashed on Friday after Mr Trump made a series of social media posts showing he was indicted by a grand jury supervised by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The indictment details the charges against Mr Trump and Walter Nauta, a former US Navy corporal who left government service to work for Mr Trump after his term ended in January 2021.
It also details the two instances in which Mr Trump revealed confidential documents to unauthorized persons at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The first took place in July 2021 during an interview with an author and publisher working on a book by his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
According to the indictment, Mr Trump showed the author, the book publisher and two employees without security clearance an “attack plan” put together by General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which had recently been reported as criticism of Mr Trump by the New Yorker.
The second case involved a secret map of an unnamed country and employees of Mr Trump’s Political Action Committee. The indictment states that Mr Trump admitted that he did not have permission to show the documents in question to those present at both incidents.
According to the indictment, the 37 charges against Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta include willful withholding of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, fraudulently concealing a document or record, concealing a document in connection with a federal investigation and a conceal planned conspiracy and false statements and representations.
The first 31 counts relate to Mr Trump’s willful withholding of national defense information.
In a table outlining the nature of the information at issue, the indictment states that some of the documents Mr. Trump took and kept at his Palm Beach residence were classified information on the nuclear weapons capabilities of both the United States and others , Unspecified information included countries, other countries’ military capabilities, both US and foreign military activities, and documents related to White House intelligence briefings provided to Mr. Trump during his tenure as President.
In addition, the indictment states that the myriad boxes of documents Mr. Trump took from the White House and kept at his home “contained information about the defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and other countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerability of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliatory action in response to a foreign attack. The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could jeopardize U.S. national security, foreign relations, the security of U.S. military and human resources, and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence methods.”
There is more to come…
