Donald Trump engaged in relentless efforts to hide government documents from authorities, instructing aides to shuttle boxes of sensitive information at his Mar-a-Lago home from a ballroom to a bathroom to a storage room, as well as his office.
The efforts are detailed in words, photographs and conversations transcribed in a federal indictment unsealed Friday that alleges the former president engaged in a conspiracy with a close aide to resist returning classified materials, even after receiving a subpoena requiring him to do so.
Trump shared secret documents freely and indicated he knew some were classified, according to court documents.
In July 2021 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, during an audio recorded meeting with a writer, a publisher, and two members of his staff, none of whom possessed a security clearance, Trump showed and described a “plan of attack” against an unnamed foreign country that he said was prepared for him by the Department of Defense and a senior military official.
CNN has identified the target country as Iran and the senior military official as General Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. Trump allegedly raised the classified plans to try to rebut critical comments by Milley.
Trump said as president he could have declassified the document he was showing to others. “See as president I could have declassified it,” Trump said, according to a transcript in the indictment. “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
The documents found were from agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Department of Energy and more, according to the indictment.
Trump is the first former president to face federal allegations of criminal conduct. The indictment, unsealed by a federal court in Miami, outlines 37 counts of seven charges including willful retention of national defense information, corruptly concealing documents, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements.