As details emerged from the indictment charging former President Donald J. Trump with mishandling classified documents, global reaction ranged from strategic silence to unbridled outrage, with room in between for world-weary shrugs, wild conspiracy theories and ominous predictions of American decline. China’s propaganda machine, which would normally leap on a U.S. scandal, stayed quiet. Russian […]
Read MoreTag: Classified Information and State Secrets
Trump’s Bathroom Reading at Mar-a-Lago
WASHINGTON — It’s shocking how easy it is to imagine Donald Trump campaigning for the presidency from prison. He’d have the joint wired, like the mob guys in “Goodfellas.” He’d be enjoying all kinds of privileges, DJing Elvis and Pavarotti; getting a steady flow of Viagra, cheeseburgers and conjugal visits (not from Melania). Maybe he’d […]
Read MoreTrump’s Indictment Is Unavoidably Political
The public filings in most legal cases are of secondary importance. What happens in the courtroom matters far more. But the United States of America v. Donald J. Trump is obviously not a typical case. Perhaps its most unusual aspect is the reality that the defendant could become the president of the United States before […]
Read MoreThe Trump Documents Case Puts the Justice System on Trial
Former President Donald J. Trump has a lot at stake in the federal criminal case lodged against him. He could, in theory, go to prison for years. But if he winds up in the dock in front of a jury, it is no exaggeration to suggest that American justice will be on trial as well. […]
Read MoreWhat Was Trump’s Motive for Keeping Documents?
For all the detailed evidence laid out in the 38-count indictment accusing former President Donald J. Trump of holding onto hundreds of classified documents and then obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them, one mystery remains: Why did he take them and fight so hard to keep them? Mr. Trump’s motive for having thousands of […]
Read MoreTrump Indictment Lays Out Evidence for Historic Charges in Documents Case
Federal prosecutors laid out an evidence-packed case in an indictment unsealed on Friday that former President Donald J. Trump had put national security secrets at risk by mishandling classified documents he took from the White House and then schemed to block the government from reclaiming the material. The 49-page, 38-count indictment said the documents held […]
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Trump’s Indictment: The Department of Justice Had No Choice
It is hard to overstate the gravity of the criminal indictment issued against Donald Trump late Thursday by a federal grand jury. For the first time, a former president has been charged with violating federal laws, laws that he swore to uphold just over six years ago. It is the first time a former leader […]
Read MoreAnalysis: Trump Indictment Shows His Actions Were More Blatant Than Known
If one theme emerged from the account presented by prosecutors in the indictment of former President Donald J. Trump that was unsealed on Friday, it was that even after months of relentless news reporting on the case, Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents was more cavalier — and his efforts to obstruct the government’s attempts […]
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What’s Inside the Trump Indictment
Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments on Friday against former President Donald J. Trump and one of his personal aides, Waltine Nauta, revealing devastating new details about a more than yearlong investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified material. The 49-page indictment, containing 37 counts and seven separate charges against Mr. Trump, gave the clearest picture yet […]
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Special Episode: A Second Trump Indictment
Michael S. Schmidt contributed reporting. The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz […]
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The Four Hurdles to Overcome for a Trump Conviction
It has been expected for months, but the reality of it is no less staggering: The special counsel Jack Smith has brought seven federal charges against Donald Trump. It is the first time in our nation’s history that a former president has been indicted on federal charges, and among Mr. Trump’s many legal problems, it […]
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Trump Indicted in Classified Documents Case and Faces Federal Charges
The Justice Department on Thursday took the legally and politically momentous step of lodging federal criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump, accusing him of mishandling classified documents he kept upon leaving office and then obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them. Mr. Trump confirmed on his social media platform that he had been […]
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Trump’s Indictment: Given What We Know, Not Charging Him Would Be the Greater Scandal
Donald Trump has been indicted. Again. And this time, it appears richly deserved, even if one includes special considerations related to the unique recent history of public officials mishandling classified documents. Before we dive into the details of the case, it’s important to restate the general principles that should govern any prosecution decision. The first […]
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Trump’s Indictment Puts Us Into Uncharted Waters
Former President Donald Trump finds himself once again facing indictment, this time in federal court, after an investigation into his handling of classified documents after departing the White House. The prospect of putting Mr. Trump on trial for serious crimes and sending him to prison has many Americans feeling giddy: Finally, justice might be done. […]
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Indictment Brings Trump Story Full Circle
There was a time, not that long ago really, when Donald J. Trump said he cared about the sanctity of classified information. That, of course, was when his opponent was accused of jeopardizing it and it was a useful political weapon for Mr. Trump. Throughout 2016, he castigated Hillary Clinton for using a private email […]
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Here Are Some of the Charges Trump Faces in Classified Documents Case
A grand jury has charged former President Donald J. Trump with a total of seven counts, according to two people familiar with the indictment. While the precise details of all the charges are not yet clear, the people familiar with the matter said the charges include willfully retaining national defense secrets in violation of the […]
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Trump Turns to a Familiar Playbook in Effort to Undermine Documents Inquiry
As prosecutors entered what seemed to be the final stages of their investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of classified documents, Mr. Trump launched a pre-emptive strike against a possible indictment, posting a pair of messages on his social media platform early Thursday morning that sought to delegitimize the inquiry. Mr. Trump accused […]
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Comer Cancels Wray Contempt Vote as F.B.I. Agrees to Share Document on Biden
House Republicans late Wednesday canceled plans to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, after the agency agreed to make available to all members of the Oversight Committee a document containing a years-old unsubstantiated allegation of bribery against President Biden. The decision was a rare dialing back of a concerted […]
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Grand Jury in Florida Hears Testimony in Trump Documents Case
A federal grand jury in Miami continued hearing from witnesses on Wednesday in the investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s possession of hundreds of classified documents and other presidential records at his private club in Florida after he left office. Among those who appeared for questions was Taylor Budowich, a former spokesman to Mr. […]
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Mark Meadows Testified to Grand Jury in Trump Special Counsel Investigation
Mark Meadows, the final White House chief of staff under President Donald J. Trump and a potentially key figure in inquiries related to Mr. Trump, has testified before a federal grand jury hearing evidence in the investigations being led by the special counsel’s office, according to two people briefed on the matter. Mr. Meadows is […]
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Grand Jury in Florida Hints at Unknown Complexities in Trump Documents Inquiry
The latest twist in the inquiry into former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of classified documents is the surprise revelation that a previously unknown federal grand jury in Florida has recently started hearing testimony in the case. The grand jury in Florida is separate from the one that has been sitting for months in Washington […]
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Trump Lawyers Visit Justice Dept. as Classified Documents Inquiry Nears End
Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump went to the Justice Department on Monday, two weeks after requesting a meeting with Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to discuss their concerns about the special counsel investigations into Mr. Trump’s conduct, according to two people familiar with the matter. It was unclear who the lawyers met with […]
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Trump Lawyer’s Voice Memo Could Be a Key in the Classified Documents Inquiry
Turning on his iPhone one day last year, the lawyer M. Evan Corcoran recorded his reflections about a high-profile new job: representing former President Donald J. Trump in an investigation into his handling of classified documents. In complete sentences and a narrative tone that sounded as if it had been ripped from a novel, Mr. […]
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Trump’s Lawyers Unable to Find Document He Discussed in Recording
Shortly after learning that former President Donald J. Trump had been recorded discussing what appeared to be classified material describing military options for confronting Iran, federal prosecutors issued a subpoena to his lawyers seeking the return of all records that resembled the document he mentioned, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. But […]
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Pence Won’t Face Charges in Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Documents
The Justice Department has declined to pursue charges against former Vice President Mike Pence in connection with his retention of classified documents at his home in Indiana, informing him in a brief letter on Thursday night, according to three people familiar with the situation. Word that the case would be closed came days before Mr. […]
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Recording of Trump Underscores Growing Evidence in Documents Case
The revelation that federal prosecutors have a recording of former President Donald J. Trump discussing a highly sensitive document in his possession after he left office underscores the weight of the evidence that the special counsel Jack Smith is assembling as he approaches a decision about whether to bring criminal charges. The recording, according to […]
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Prosecutors in Trump Documents Case Scrutinize Handling of Security Footage
For the past six months, prosecutors working for the special counsel Jack Smith have sought to determine whether former President Donald J. Trump obstructed the government’s efforts to retrieve a trove of classified documents he took from the White House. More recently, investigators also appear to be pursuing a related question: whether Mr. Trump and […]
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Trump Was Taped Discussing Sensitive Document He Had After Leaving Office
Federal prosecutors investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of classified material have a recording of Mr. Trump from 2021 discussing a sensitive military document he had kept after leaving the White House, two people briefed on the matter said. The recording, in which Mr. Trump also indicated he knew the document was secret, could […]
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At Guantánamo’s Court Like No Other, Progress Is Frustrated by State Secrets
A defense lawyer was making a constitutional argument in the Guantánamo war court that the clock had run out on a case involving terrorist attacks in Indonesia 20 years ago when he was suddenly drowned out by white noise. “It is repugnant …” were the last words the public heard from Lt. Ryan P. Hirschler, a […]
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Mar-a-Lago Worker Provided Prosecutors New Details in Trump Documents Case
The day before a key meeting last year between a lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and officials seeking the return of classified documents in Mr. Trump’s possession, a maintenance worker at the former president’s private club saw an aide moving boxes into a storage room, according to a person familiar with the matter. […]
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Trump Lawyers Seek Meeting With Garland Over Special Counsel Inquiries
Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump sent a letter on Tuesday requesting a meeting with Attorney General Merrick B. Garland related to the special counsel investigations into Mr. Trump’s conduct. The letter cited no specifics but asserted that Mr. Trump was being treated unfairly by the Justice Department through the investigations led by the […]
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