Jack Smith Indicts Trump on Federal Classified Documents Charges

The Federal Indictment

On June 8, 2023, Special Counsel Jack Smith announced a 37-count federal indictment against Donald Trump related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. The charges included 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, one count of corruptly concealing a document, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, one count of scheming to conceal, and one count of making false statements. Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta was also charged as a co-conspirator.

The Evidence

The indictment painted a detailed picture of Trump’s conduct, including transcripts of an audio recording in which Trump appeared to show a classified document about potential military action against Iran to visitors at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, while acknowledging it was classified and that he had not declassified it. The indictment described Trump storing classified documents in a bathroom, a ballroom stage, and a shower at Mar-a-Lago. Photographs released with the indictment showed boxes of documents stacked haphazardly in unsecured locations throughout the property.

Obstruction Allegations

Perhaps more damning than the retention charges were the obstruction allegations. Prosecutors described a scheme in which Trump directed Nauta and others to move boxes of documents before his lawyers could review them in response to a grand jury subpoena, effectively hiding classified materials from investigators. Surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago showed Nauta and another employee moving boxes out of a storage room the day before Trump’s lawyer was scheduled to search for documents. Trump’s lawyer later certified that all classified materials had been returned, a statement prosecutors alleged was false.

Legal and Political Consequences

Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Miami on June 13, 2023. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who had previously been reversed by an appeals court for intervening in the investigation. The case became mired in pretrial delays, with Judge Cannon granting numerous defense requests for extensions. A superseding indictment in July 2023 added additional charges and a new co-defendant, Trump Organization property manager Carlos De Oliveira. In July 2024, Judge Cannon dismissed the entire case on the grounds that Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, a ruling that was widely criticized by legal scholars and was being appealed when Trump won the 2024 election.