Donald Trump has been indicted in the classified document probe. FBI agents ransacked his Mar-a-Lago home last August after a prolonged dispute with the National Archives about outstanding sensitive materials. What we learned is that Trump's lawyers were in communication with the National Archives, they were working on trying to locate and possibly return the items in question, and the FBI sent a letter in June 2022 ordering that all files and documents at Mar-a-Lago shouldn't be moved. And then, that August, the bureau busted down the doors.
The hyperbole flowed, with ridiculous tales about Trump having nuclear secrets on-site. I thought this wouldn't go anywhere, and it shouldn't—but Trump's indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush money arrangement by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg changed everything. If anti-Trump lawyers could ensnare the former president on that joke of a case, Donald is screwed.
Again, we have a good grasp of his charges, proving that another crime has been committed regarding this classified document investigation: someone leaked this information to the press. Given what's been disclosed, we could also calculate how long Trump could go to jail if convicted (via NY Post):
The federal indictment lodged against former president Donald Trump includes seven charges that carry a maximum 75-year prison sentence if convicted on all counts.
The 76-year-old former commander in chief was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on criminal charges relating to his alleged mishandling of classified White House documents that were recovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and allegations he tried to obstruct the government’s attempts to retrieve them.
The charges against Trump include: willfully retaining the national defense documents, conspiring to obstruct justice, withholding the documents, corruptly concealing the records, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal and making false statements, sources told ABC News.
All seven charges “break out from an Espionage Act charge,” his lawyer Jim Trusty confirmed to CNN.
“It does have some language in it that suggests what the seven charges would be. Not 100% clear that all of those are separate charges, but they basically break out from an Espionage Act charge,” Trusty said.
Trump attorney Jim Trusty joins for his first interview since Trump was indicted. There is:
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 9, 2023
— An Espionage Act charge
— Several obstruction-based charges
— False statement charges
— Is there a conspiracy charge in here? “I believe so, I don't have it in front of me right now.” pic.twitter.com/8zOCynIygB
It's possible someone else could be indicted vis-à-vis the conspiracy to obstruct justice charge. Will Trump go to jail? Who knows at this point since trust in our legal system has eroded to the point of erasure, thanks to anti-Trump operatives' pervasive abuse of power. For now, the goal for Democrats isn't to jail Trump but to keep him pinned to legal drama that could impact the entire GOP candidate field from top-to-bottom next year.
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