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Donald Trump<\/strong>\u00a0took hundreds of classified documents, detailing everything from U.S. nuclear programs to how the nation might respond to a foreign attack, according to a\u00a038-count federal indictment<\/a> unsealed Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The former president of the United States, the government alleges, hid boxes including these classified documents\u2014 like papers from the CIA, Pentagon and NSA\u2014 in the bathroom, inside a shower,\u00a0ballroom, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room at his resort and personal residence Mar-a-Lago.<\/p>\n The government has charged both Trump and his personal aide and \u201cbody man\u201d\u00a0Walt Nauta<\/strong> as a co-conspirator. The counts include allegations of willful retention of national defense documents, corruptly concealing a document, conspiracy to obstruct justice, among others.\u00a0\u201cThe purpose of the conspiracy was for TRUMP to keep classified documents he has taken with him from the White House and to hide and conceal them from a federal grand jury,\u201d the indictment states.<\/p>\n The indictment trails how the boxes with classified documents were moved around his property, including an alleged text message conversation between Trump staffers in which one suggests, \u201cThere is still a little room in the shower where his other stuff is,\u201d when discussing where to relocate the papers. In another scene, the indictment claims Nauta, after discovering some of the boxes had fallen over in a Mar-a-Lago storage room\u2014 exposing documents\u2019 \u201cSECRET\u201d labels\u2014 texted a fellow Trump employee about the spillage.<\/p>\n Trump has also been accused of sharing classified documents with people who did not have security clearance. But when the government subpoenaed any classified documents, the indictment alleges that Trump suggested to his lawyers in 2022 that it would be \u201cbetter\u201d to say he was not in possession of any. Per the indictment, Trump also asked what would happen if his lawyers just didn\u2019t respond to a subpoena seeking classified files, and directed Nauta to move documents to conceal them from his own attorneys:<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t, I don’t want you looking through my boxes,\u201d Trump said, as recounted by the indictment, which cited how one of the attorneys had \u201cmemorialized\u201d the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWell what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?\u201d Trump is alleged to have said. The indictment also quotes Trump as allegedly saying, \u201cWouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?\u201d and, \u201cWell look isn’t it better if there are no documents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cOur laws that protect national defense information are critical for the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced,\u201d special counsel \u00a0Jack Smith<\/strong> said in a statement after the indictment was unsealed, adding that \u201cwe have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Trump\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday night that he was\u00a0facing federal charges<\/a>, posting on Truth Social that \u201cthe corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax.\u201d He continued to defend his actions Friday, suggesting documents in question were his \u201cpersonal records,\u201d<\/a> while also lashing out<\/a> at Smith. Republican lawmakers, 2024 GOP contender, and right-wing media figures quickly\u00a0came to his defense<\/a>, albeit before the details of the indictment were unsealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read the full indictment\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This article was updated following Smith\u2019s statement.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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