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According to his own statements, Donald Trump has been indicted again by the US judiciary. His lawyers had been informed about the process, which apparently had something to do with the secret documents affair, Trump explained on his online platform “Truth Social”. He was summoned by a court in Miami next Tuesday. “I never would have believed that something like this could happen to a former President of the United States,” Trump wrote. He added, “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” It is “a dark day” for the United States.
Private estate instead of national archives
In August last year, the federal police FBI seized around 11,000 documents during a raid on Trump’s private home Mar-a-Lago in the state of Florida, including many with classification levels. Trump took the documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his term in January 2021.
According to the regulation, however, official documents from US Presidents must be handed over to the National Archives. In addition, there are strict legal rules for dealing with secret documents, including a law on espionage. In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith, a special counsel, to investigate the affair. Smith is also investigating Trump’s criminal liability in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol storming.
“Election interference at the highest level”
Trump described the actions of the US judiciary as “election interference at the highest level”. In a video, he once again accused his successor Joe Biden and his Democrats of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt against him. “They are trying to destroy our reputation.” Trump wants to move into the White House again for the Republicans after the 2024 presidential election. The 76-year-old officially announced his application for the candidacy in November. So far, he is ahead in polls among party supporters.
Further investigations are ongoing against Trump. All eyes were on a case in New York that led to the first criminal indictment of an ex-president in US history. It was about hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 presidential election. Trump also pleaded “not guilty” in this case.
wa/fw (dpa, afp, rtr)
Source: DW
