…..Trump indictment highlights:
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his mishandling of more than 100 classified documents, two sources confirmed to NBC News.
Trump, who first revealed the news earlier Thursday in a post on his Truth Social platform, faces seven counts, according to his lawyer and another source. The charges include false statements, conspiracy to obstruct and a charge related to the Espionage Act, sources said.A federal grand jury in Florida has been meeting in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump’s handling of classified documents, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The Florida grand jury is separate from a panel that was convened in Washington, D.C.The investigation began last year when the National Archives alerted the FBI that government documents Trump had returned after having been out of office for about a year included 184 that were marked classified. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Hawley says he doesn’t know why other Senate Republicans are quiet tonight
In an appearance on Fox News tonight, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was asked by host Laura Ingraham why members of Senate Republican leadership have not spoken out in support of Trump tonight.
Asked if he thought they would make public statements, Hawley said: “I don’t know. I can’t speak for anybody else, Laura. And I’ve given up predicting what any other senator might do. But I can just say for myself, that I think this is a critical moment in our history as a nation and this is the time to stand up and say we’re going to fight for the rule of law.”
The Fox host was more direct in her critique saying, “You cannot as an office holder in the Republican Party sit by even if you can’t stand Trump for policy reasons, personal, or whatever it is.” She also called out the Senate minority leader by name, saying “Mitch McConnell, this is your moment my friend”.
Trump faces same charge under Espionage Act as accused Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira
Owen Hayes
One of the charges against Trump is the same one facing accused Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira under the Espionage Act.
Trump lawyer Jim Trusty said on CNN that the summons included at least one charged related to 18 U.S.C 793, a section of the Espionage Act that penalizes unlawfully retaining “national defense” information. NBC News later confirmed that charge.
Teixeira, a 21-year-old former member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is accused of violating the Espionage Act by photographing classified documents, including materials he improperly removed from the base where he worked. He is in jail awaiting trial.
Violations of this section of the statute are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Trump team is keeping an eye on which GOP leaders are tweeting — and which aren’t
The Trump team has noticed that three of the top four House GOP members have defended him on Twitter: Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, a source close to the former president said.
They haven’t seen anything yet from Majority Whip Tom Emmer, however, the source said. And they’re paying close attention.
No members of Senate Republican leadership have tweeted about Trump’s indictment tonight, either. They include: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Whip John Thune, Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso, Policy Chair Joni Ernst, Conference Vice Chair Shelley Moore Capito and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Danies.
Pence doesn’t appear on ‘Hannity’ for scheduled interview after indictment news
Phil Helsel and Dasha Burns
Pence did not appear on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show after news of Trump’s federal indictment broke.
Pence had been scheduled to go on tonight to discuss his White House bid, which he formally announced yesterday, but the show ended up being solely dedicated to the indictment, so Fox and Pence’s teams mutually decided to find another time to get the two together, said a source familiar with the matter.
Before the news of the indictment, Pence had tweeted that Hannity was to interview him at 9 p.m. Pence’s tweet about the appearance no longer exists.
A representative for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an email to Hannity’s show through his website also had no immediate response.
What comes next in Trump’s indictment?
One big question is whether the Justice Department will file a motion to have a federal judge unseal the indictment before Trump’s scheduled appearance Tuesday afternoon. Given the information vacuum at the moment, the Justice Department may decide to ask for it to be unsealed right away.
If Trump complies with his summons — one of his attorneys, Jim Trusty, said on CNN that Trump will show up at the courthouse Tuesday — he will most likely face a federal judge for a formal arraignment, when he’ll be entitled to hear the charges. He will then enter a plea.
Given the nature of the charges, Trump is likely to be released with a court date to return. While such hearings are typically routine and short, the Justice Department could weigh in on Trump’s making public statements about the case. In the Manhattan case, there was much speculation about whether the judge would impose a gag order, a step he ultimately didn’t take. But he did issue a protective order that prohibits Trump from blasting out on social media certain evidence gathered by
False statements charge: What did Trump say and when?
Trusty, appearing on CNN, also indicated the former president faces a charge related to false statements.
That’s noteworthy because it means authorities plan to accuse Trump of lying to investigators, which raises the following questions: What’s the exchange, with whom, and when did it happen?
Based on public reporting, Trump stopped by and greeted members of the Justice Department and federal agents when they came to his home to retrieve documents in June 2022 (before the search warrant was executed). Whether he say anything at the time that prosecutors found misleading remains to be seen. His aides and lawyers have used Trump’s greeting as an example of his trying to work cooperatively with investigators.
DeSantis: ‘Weaponization’ of law enforcement is ‘a mortal threat’
In his first statement since news of Trump’s indictment broke, GOP presidential contender Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said “the weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society.”
“We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation,” he tweeted. “Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?”
He continued with a nod to his own campaign: “The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all.”
Trump may face conspiracy charge, but others involved are unclear
Laura Jarrett
Trusty also suggested on CNN that Trump faces at least one conspiracy-related charge. That’s significant because prosecutors need to show an agreement between two or more people to prove a conspiracy.
That raises the question of whether the special counsel’s office is going to indict someone else in addition to Trump or whether there will be an unindicted co-conspirator.
Trusty did not name precisely who he believed, other than his client, would face charges.
Trump lawyer Jim Trusty says legal team received ‘summons’ but doesn’t have indictment
Jim Trusty, one of Trump’s attorneys, said in an interview on CNN tonight that the former president’s legal team received a “summons” that “doesn’t perfectly mirror an indictment” but includes language that “suggests what the seven charges would be.”
“They basically break out from an Espionage Act charge, which is ludicrous under the facts of this case,” Trusty said. “And several obstruction-based-type charges and then false statement charges, which are actually, again, kind of a crazy stretch just from the facts as we know it.”
Trusty said that retention of documents was another charge and that he thinks a conspiracy count was listed, as well. He also said Trump’s legal team hasn’t yet been provided with the indictment.
“This is not biblically accurate, because I’m not looking at a charging document. I’m looking at a summary sheet,” he said.
Trusty said he expects Trump’s legal team will receive a copy of the indictment between Thursday night and 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, when, he said, the Justice Department has asked Trump and his lawyers to appear in federal court. Trusty said Trump will show up at the courthouse Tuesday.
“You’re not going to see him, you know, hide in Scotland. He’s going to be ready to handle this case and help his attorneys fight it.”
Trump lawyer refers to a charge that could bypass debate over whether he declassified
For the first time publicly, Trump’s attorney confirmed that the former president faces at least one charge related to the Espionage Act.
Trusty said on CNN that the Justice Department provided Trump’s team with information related to the charge of willful retention of national defense information. Importantly under that charge, prosecutors do not have to prove the documents were classified. That gives prosecutors a strategic advantage, avoiding a debate about whether Trump did or did not declassify any documents before he left the White House.
The statute criminalizes anyone with “unauthorized possession” of “national defense” material who “willfully” retains it. A string of court decisions has concluded that even if a document is not technically “classified,” someone can be charged under the law as long as the information is “closely held” and the information would be useful to U.S. adversaries.
— NBC News
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