The Espionage Act declares that obtaining information relating to national defense to be used “to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation” is illegal. It also alleged the former president had documents concerning the country’s nuclear program and military capabilities. "If true then President Trump not only unlawfully retained classified documents, but also showed them to others, it will make it more likely that special counsel Jack Smith will seek authority to charge the former president.The indictment against Trump revealed federal investigators made extensive efforts to recover the documents that were taken from the White House at the end of Trump’s presidency before and after the search that the FBI conducted at Mar-a-Lago in August. "As with any criminal case, the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in charging decisions is central," Aganga-Williams said. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.Įven prior to the most recent reporting, Trump faced serious criminal exposure for allegedly retaining highly sensitive documents, Temidayo Aganga-Williams, partner at Selendy Gay Elsberg and former senior investigative counsel for the House Jan. Trump has maintained no wrongdoing in the matter and has claimed that the investigation is part of an alleged Democratic scheme to prevent him from serving as president again. In August, the FBI conducted a search at Mar-a-Lago, leading to the discovery of over 100 documents labeled as classified at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. Since last year, the Justice Department has been investigating the retention of sensitive records after the National Archives found 15 boxes of materials from when Trump served as president. Prosecutors have also uncovered evidence in recent weeks indicating that Trump's employees at Mar-a-Lago brought boxes of documents back to the storage room just one day before the visit of justice department officials who were scheduled to collect the classified documents that had been subpoenaed, according to The Washington Post. "It's crazy in there": Knives out on Trump's legal team over worries one of them could be a "snitch" If a disclosure is made with reason to believe that the United States would be injured or the foreign government advantaged, the penalty is up to life in prison or even death, as in the case of the Rosenbergs." "And a disclosure to a foreign government is the most serious offense of all. Attorney Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, told Salon. "Disclosing classified information to an unauthorized person is a different and more serious offense than simply retaining classified information," former U.S. Prosecutors have collected evidence related to this matter, according to individuals familiar with the investigation, the Post reported. Prior to receiving the subpoena in May, Trump had engaged in what some officials have referred to as a "dress rehearsal," which involved the movement of government documents that he wished to retain. It also expands the timeline of possible instances of obstruction under investigation, extending from events at Mar-a-Lago prior to the subpoena to the period following the FBI search conducted on August 8, according to the Post. Experts: Report that Trump lawyer was "misled" about Mar-a-Lago search could be bad news for TrumpĪs the investigation into the former president's retention of national security materials at Mar-a-Lago nears its end, the FBI and Justice Department have discovered instances of potential obstruction that provide more detailed and specific information than what was previously disclosed, the Post reported.
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