The federal indictment of former President Donald Trump has been unsealed — and the charges are more numerous than originally anticipated.
Fox News obtained a copy of the unsealed indictment and reported that Trump will be facing far more than the “at least seven” total charges that had originally been bandied about.
In total, the former president and leading GOP presidential contender in the 2024 race now faces 38 criminal charges.
Those charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to object justice and false statements.
Special counsel Jack Smith unsealed the indictment Friday.
The indictment says the former president “had lawful access to the most sensitive classified documents and national defense information gathered and owned by the United States government, including information from the agencies that comprise the United States Intelligence Community and the United States Department of Defense.”
“Over the course of his presidency, TRUMP gathered newspapers, press clippings, letters, notes, cards, photographs, official documents, and other materials in cardboard boxes that he kept in the White House,” it says. “Among the materials TRUMP stored in his boxes were hundreds of classified documents.
“The classified documents TRUMP stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.
“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”
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The indictment includes all manner of additional information, such as conversations Trump had with various officials, photos and quotes.
Here’s how those 38 charges are broken down:
Trump faces 31 counts of “Willful Retention of National Defense Information.”
The former president also faces one count of “Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice,” one count of “Withholding a Document or Record,” one count of “Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record,” one count of “Concealing a Document in a Federal Investigation,” one count of “Scheme to Conceal” and two counts of “False Statements and Representations.”
You can see the entire, 49-page document below:
Trump Indictment by The Western Journal
While the charges the former president faces are far more numerous and appear more serious than most observers anticipated, Friday was not a complete loss for Trump.
Earlier in the day, he learned that Aileen Cannon, a federal judge he appointed, had been selected to oversee his case.
Trump has maintained his innocence throughout the entirety of the investigation and indictment by the Justice Department.
