A timeline of events preceding Trump's latest indictment
Even as president, Trump had a history of mishandling confidential information. Here are some examples of how he botched intelligence procedures, including the events that led to his indictment on June 8.
Former President Donald Trump will be arraigned Tuesday on 37 felony counts tied to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. While this is by far the most severe allegation against Trump regarding his treatment of information security, it’s not the first time he’s shown a lax approach to confidential information.
“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people,” said special counsel Jack Smith when unsealing the indictment Friday. “Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”
Key takeaways from the Justice Department indictment of Donald Trump >>>
Included in the charges Trump is facing — 31 of which fall under the Espionage Act — are willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing a document or record and scheme to conceal. If convicted, the former president and current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination could face years in prison.
Loose with classified info while president
Four months after Trump took office, the Washington Post reported that he had revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador to the United States. An official familiar with the matter said Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.” That same month, a transcript circulated of an April 29, 2017, phone conversation in which Trump told Rodrigo Duterte, then president of the Philippines, that the U.S. had two nuclear subs off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.
In August 2019, Trump tweeted a photo of a failed Iranian rocket launch that reportedly came from the president’s daily intelligence briefing. The image raised concern among intelligence experts that Trump had revealed previously undisclosed surveillance capabilities, with one satellite imagery analyst telling NPR that Trump's post included "some pretty amazing capabilities that the public simply wasn’t privy to before this.”
Trump classified documents charges: Read the full indictment >>>
While these incidents may have raised some eyebrows, they never rose to the level of a criminal investigation. But after Trump left office in 2021, questions were raised about Trump’s handling of classified materials at his home in Mar-a-Lago — which would eventually lead to his indictment on federal charges.
Here’s a timeline of events leading to the investigation of Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, which ultimately resulted in his indictment.
February 2022: The National Archives and Records Administration seeks investigation
The National Archives and Records Administration asked the Department of Justice to investigate Trump's handling of government records after he returned some classified materials that had been stored at Mar-a-Lago. “Of most significant concern was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records” and improperly identified, the special agent in charge of the agency’s Office of the Inspector General said, according to the Associated Press.
May 2022: Trump fights handover of remaining classified documents
A grand jury subpoena required Trump to turn over all classified materials, but the former president told his attorneys, “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes." Weeks later, federal agents visited Mar-a-Lago to collect 38 more classified documents found by Trump’s lawyers and were allowed to visit a storage room where documents had been kept, but they were prohibited from looking inside boxes.
August 2022: FBI agents search Mar-a-Lago
The FBI searched Trump's Florida residence and a court-approved warrant released days later revealed that:
The Justice Department had probable cause to believe there were possible violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
27 boxes and other collections containing 11 sets of classified materials were recovered at Mar-a-Lago.
Two weeks after the search, Trump sued to block the Justice Department from reviewing seized materials until a third-party "special master" had reviewed them.
September 2022: DOJ temporarily barred from accessing seized materials
Florida U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Trump's request for outside review by a special master, which temporarily barred the DOJ from using the seized materials. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later partially lifted Cannon’s injunction, granting the DOJ access to classified documents.
Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel who secured an indictment against Trump? >>>
November 2022: Special counsel appointed
Days after Trump announced that he's running for president in 2024, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that special counsel Jack Smith would oversee the classified documents investigation.
December 2022: DOJ gets access to all Mar-a-Lago documents
The 11th Circuit reversed Cannon’s appointment of a special master, giving the DOJ access to all materials seized at Mar-a-Lago. Trump's attorneys also found and handed over more documents marked as classified to the DOJ.
June 2023: Grand jury indicts Trump
On June 8, a grand jury in Miami indicted Trump, and the indictment was made public the next day. A federal court appearance in Miami is scheduled for June 13.
