Trump confirmed on June 8 that he is being charged with espionage. He is also facing four separate charges that each carry a possible prison time of up to 20 years. These are conspiracy to obstruct justice; withholding a document or record; corruptly concealing a document or record; and concealing a document in a federal investigation.
The indictment has not been made public that time, but he decided to publicize it so that the feds could unseal it as early as Friday, June 9. Also, Trump's lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN that there were seven charges that "break out from an Espionage Act charge."
Trump was in Bedminster, New Jersey when the news broke. The 45th U.S. president condemned the indictment, saying it was political persecution and insisting that he is innocent. During Trump's first public appearance after the "historic indictment," he blasted the feds calling it "ridiculous" and "baseless."
He also signified his position to not leave the presidential race in an interview with Politico aboard his plane and predicted he would not be convicted. When asked if he'd pardon himself if he gets re-elected, he answered: "I don't think I'll ever have to. I didn't do anything wrong."
The indictment unsealed on Friday charged Trump with willfully defying the Department of Justice's (DOJ) demand that he return classified documents.
Trump was previously indicted in Manhattan in April on separate state charges for making hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He is due to make his first federal court appearance in Miami on Tuesday, June 13, a day before his 77th birthday.
Interestingly, the indictment was made public the same day the Federal Bureau of Investigation released new evidence proving that the Biden crime family received $5 million from a Ukrainian gas company. Critics believe the government is trying to divert the public's attention away from the latter.
"They've launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people," Trump said during the Republican state convention in Georgia. He later told the crowd: "In the end, they're not coming after me. They're coming after you."
During the said state convention, Trump also criticized the DOJ and President Joe Biden for their "politically motivated campaign to keep him from the White House." Trump said that the incumbent president has "orchestrated the criminal charges in order to undermine his main political rival's presidential campaign, as well as to distract from federal and congressional investigations into Biden's son"
However, DOJ stood firm that all its investigative decisions are made without regard to partisan politics. The prosecutors claimed the former president held on to materials that he should not have retained, including documents about the U.S. nuclear program and domestic vulnerabilities to a potential attack.
"The 49-page indictment also detailed two instances in which Trump allegedly shared classified information with people not authorized to receive it, as well as efforts to obstruct government investigators seeking to retrieve the materials," Reuters reported.
Trump supporters accused the DOJ of political bias, saying that his indictment is just another example of weaponized government bureaucracy. (Related: Former Arizona AG: Trump indictment an example of weaponized government bureaucracy.)
Visit Trump.news for more updates on Trump's federal charges and court hearings.
Watch the video below about the Trump indictment.
This video is from the Willow channel on Brighteon.com.
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