Trump Indicted Again for Allegedly Mishandling Classified Documents, Gets New Legal Representation

Originally published June 9, 2023 9:50 am PDT

Former President Donald Trump is facing a new legal predicament, as he has been indicted on charges associated with mishandling classified documents.

The former president announced the development in a string of Thursday evening social media posts.

The significant development follows an earlier incident less than a quarter ago when Trump was hit with 34 felony counts in New York over accusations of falsifying business records.

The seven new charges, according to sources familiar with the case but who were not permitted to disclose details, revolve around the alleged mishandling of classified materials.

Trump’s legal team, comprising James Trusty and John Rowley, who revealed the information on CNN, reported the indictment encompassed charges like willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice, false statements, and conspiracy.

The duo later declared their resignation on Friday morning, severing their legal representation of the former president.

Trump on Friday took to his Truth Social app, which is now available globally, to announce his new representation, Todd Blanche.

“For purposes of fighting the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time, now moving to the Florida Courts, I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a firm to be named later,” he said.

“I want to thank Jim Trusty and John Rowley for their work, but they were up against a very dishonest, corrupt, evil, and ‘sick’ group of people, the likes of which has not been seen before. We will be announcing additional lawyers in the coming days. When will Joe Biden be Indicted for his many crimes against our Nation? MAGA!”

Trump initially responded to the new indictment by proclaiming it as “a DARK DAY for the United States of America” on Truth Social.

In a video post, he firmly stated, “I’m innocent and we will prove that very, very soundly and hopefully very quickly.”

Mere 20 minutes following the indictment news, his 2024 presidential campaign leveraged the occasion for fundraising appeals, a strategy that worked well for Trump in the past.

As for what will happen next, the Justice Department has yet to officially affirm the indictment, and public filings of the charges are still pending.

Trump has disclosed his court summons, which is scheduled for the coming Tuesday in Miami.

However, the exact procedural details aren’t known.

Previously, during his New York indictment, Trump willingly turned himself in to the authorities.

The process involved private booking and a court appearance, where he was accompanied by his legal team at the defense table.

This recent case originated in Florida and is being presided over by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee.

Judge Cannon has earlier fulfilled Trump’s request for an independent individual to review the documents acquired in an FBI search at his Florida estate.

Questions arise as to whether Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden have committed similarly potentially incriminating acts.

In 2019, a State Department investigation centered on whether Clinton had jeopardized classified information by using a private email server rather than a government one.

Clinton had turned over roughly 33,000 emails from her private server in 2014.

In 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that some of Clinton’s emails contained classified information.

Moreover, in January of this year, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), began an investigation into Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Attorney General Merrick Garland had also assigned a special counsel to investigate the presence of documents marked classified that were found at Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home and at an office in Washington.

It remains to be seen whether Clinton and Biden will face similar scrutiny from the American justice system.

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