Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged former President Donald Trump with obstruction of justice in connection with an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The charges stem from an April 2021 raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where agents seized boxes of documents that were classified at the time they were removed from the White House. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers have said the charges are politically motivated.
According to the indictment, Trump asked an employee to delete footage from a security camera that showed him removing the documents from the White House. Trump also allegedly instructed the employee to lie to investigators about the existence of the footage.
The charges are the latest in a series of legal woes facing Trump. He is also under investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office for potential fraud and financial crimes.
The obstruction of justice charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Here are some additional details about the case:
- The investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents was launched in 2019 by the US Department of Justice.
- The raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort was conducted by the FBI.
- The indictment was filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
- Trump is the first former president to be charged with a crime while out of office.
The charges against Trump are a significant development in the ongoing investigation into his handling of classified documents. It remains to be seen how Trump will respond to the charges, and whether he will be convicted.
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