Trump’s classified documents case

June 14, 2023 - Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges that he unlawfully kept national-security documents after he left office in 2021.

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The investigation -- led by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith -- revolves around sensitive government papers that Trump held onto after his White House term ended in January 2021. Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, have also been charged with obstructing the investigation and concealing material from a grand jury.

Federal authorities have recovered more than 330 classified documents from Trump. In January 2022, he voluntarily gave back 15 boxes to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Archive officials discovered 197 individual classified documents.

His lawyers, Evan Corcoran and Christina Bobb, handed over 38 classified records in June 2022. Bobb signed a letter claiming they represented all classified material at Trump’s property.

Last August, the FBI executed a court-approved search warrant at Mar-a-Lago and recovered 102 additional documents with Top Secret classification markings.

On Friday (June 9), a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Trump in connection with the classified documents investigation, accusing him of 37 federal crimes, including illegally retaining national security documents and conspiring to obstruct justice.

In a social media post, Trump says he is “totally innocent” and calls the case a “hoax.” The grand jury also indicted the Trump aide Nauta on obstruction-related charges.