What we know so farpublished at 19:34 British Summer Time 9 June 2023

19:34 BST 9 June 2023

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, DOJ

Donald Trump’s indictment on federal charges has been unsealed, and the full scope of the case against the former president for mishandling classified documents is coming into view.

Trump has been charged with 37 counts of unauthorised possession of classified material, obstructing of justice and making false statements to law enforcement – with a detailed list of the kind of documents Trump kept at his personal residences.

The indictment says Trump hid documents detailing US nuclear weapons programmes, potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies, US plans for retaliatory military attacks – material that “could put at risk the national security of the United States”.

It also detailed how Trump allegedly concealed these documents from investigators and his own lawyers, taking boxes of material to his personal residence in Mar-a-Lago and, from there, on his plane to his Bedminster, New Jersey, estate.

We're still looking through the indictment - stay with us.

We're still poring through the indictment, which details the 37 criminal charges against Donald Trump.

The document includes several quotes from Trump, which relate to the storage of sensitive government information.

“We can’t have someone in the Oval Office who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified,” he said.

He also said: “In my administration, I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information.

"No-one will be above the law.”

At another point Trump allegedly asked his lawyers: “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”

The indictment says Trump then added: “Well look, isn’t it better if there are no documents?”

The second time the indictment states that Trump showed classified documents to others was "in August or September 2021", at the Bedminster Club.

The former US president "showed a representative of his political action committee who did not possess a security clearance a classified map".

This map "related to a military operation" and Trump told the representative that "he should not be showing it" to them and they "should not get too close".

Image source, DOJ

Key to the charges brought against Trump is the suggestion that his storage of top secret documents could have put the national security of the United States at risk.

The classified documents seized by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago contained information about the United States nuclear programme, the weapons capabilities of the US and other foreign powers, as well as "the potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies to military attack".

The indictment claims such documents were stored for more than a year at a Florida social club, with hundreds of members and 150 staff, and that the documents were stored - at various times - in a ballroom, a bathroom, an office and a bedroom at the Palm Beach venue.

The indictment accuses Trump of showing "classified documents to others" on two occasions.

The first instance was 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 these people possessed security clearance, the indictment adds.

Trump showed and described a "plan of attack" that he said was "prepared for him by the Department of Defense and a senior military official".

Trump then told the individuals that the plan was "highly confidential", "secret" and also added "as president I could have declassified it".

"Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," the indictment states Trump as saying.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump is being charged in this case alongside his personal aide Walt Nauta.

Some of the charges in the indictment are against both Trump and Nauta - only one is against Nauta alone.

Here's a break down of the charges against Trump's aide:

• Conspiracy to obstruct justice
• Withholding a document or record
• Corruptly concealing a document or record
• Concealing a document in a federal investigation
• Scheme to conceal
• False statements and representations

Amid the flurry of activity when the indictment dropped, there was some confusion over the exact number of charges.

There are 38 total counts, 37 are against former President Donald Trump.

The one additional count is only against his aide, Walt Nauta.

We will explain the charge against Nauta shortly.

Image source, DOJ

Trump's Mar-a-Lago club "was not an authorised location" for the "storage, possession, review, display or discussion" of classified documents, the indictment says.

Nevertheless, it continues, Trump's boxes of documents were stored in places at the club including "a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room".

Trump has been charged with 31 counts of wilful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act.

While espionage has sinister connotations of spying and skulduggery, it is the kind of charge that has also been used in the past to prosecute individuals who have been criminally careless with important government documents.

Image source, DOJ

The indictment continues by saying that once Trump ceased to be president on 20 January 2021, he "caused scores of boxes, many of which contained classified documents, to be transported" to his residence in Florida - the Mar-a-Lago club.

"Trump was not authorised to possess or retain those classified documents," it adds.

The third point in the indictment accuses Trump of storing "information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries".

The documents also included "United States nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies to military attack" and "plans for possible retaliation" in response to a foreign attack.

Trump is facing dozens of criminal charges, as laid out in the indictment released a few moments ago. Here's what they are:

• 31 counts of wilful retention of national defense information
• 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
• One count of false statements and representations

Image source, DOJ

The second point in the indictment states that: "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.

"Among the materials Trump stored in his boxes were hundreds of classified documents."

We're reading through the 49-page indictment right now, which includes dozens of criminal counts.

In the first bullet point, prosecutors note that as president of the United States, Donald Trump had access to "the most sensitive classified documents and national security information", including information from the intelligence community and the Department of Defense.

Donald Trump's indictment has been unsealed.

We're just working our way through it and will bring you all the key lines as we have them.

Image source, Reuters

We've also just heard Trump has appointed a new legal team for his Florida case, while two of his lawyers resigned today.

Who is Todd Blanche, his new attorney?

• Blanche is a white-collar criminal defense lawyer
• Until recently, he was a partner at New York law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
• Blanche is also representing Trump in his New York criminal case
• He's a former federal prosecutor who has represented those in Trump's inner circle before, including Trump ally Paul Manafort

Image source, PA Media

A little earlier, the White House deputy press secretary was fielding the usual barrage of questions from reporters in Washington.

Olivia Dalton said President Biden found out about Trump's indictment just like everybody else, emphasising that he had no prior knowledge of it.

She insisted the White House would not be commenting on the case and referred questions to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

"This is a president who respects the rule of law and has said that since day one," she adds.

"That's precisely why we're not commenting here. He believes in respecting the independence of the DOJ and protecting the integrity of their processes."

Dalton confirmed authorities are prepared for any potential demonstrations should they arise.

Image source, Getty Images

We've just learned that Donald Trump's associate, Walt Nauta, is being indicted alongside the former president.

So who is Nauta?

• He was an aide to the former president
• His role was similar to a personal valet and sometimes referred to as a "body-man"
• He was often seen on the campaign trail carrying Trump's coat and change of clothes while traveling on the plane with reporters, according to the Washington Post, external
• The US Navy veteran relocated to Florida to serve as an aide to Trump at Mar-a-Lago
• CBS News reported, external last year that Nauta told investigators the former president told him to move boxes of documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort to a different location after the federal government began its investigation into Trump

If you're just joining us, let's quickly bring you up to speed with.

Here are the recent developments:

• Walt Nauta, an aide to Donald Trump, has been indicted in the case, according to a post from Trump on social media
• In a joint statement, two of Trump's lawyers Jim Trusty and John Rowley tendered their resignations
• Trump has indicated he will shake up his legal team as he hinted Todd Blanche will represent the former US president
• The indictment is still under seal in Miami - so concrete details of the charges and who is on the indictment are still unclear
• Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed US federal judge, is understood to be overseeing the criminal case against the former president
• All of this comes at a time when the race for the 2024 presidential election heats up. As a result of the indictment some of Trump's allies have called for him to get out of the race, while another has committed to pardoning him

Some more news about the investigation has been revealed via Donald Trump's social media account.

Walt Nauta, a former military valet, has been indicted alongside the former US President, according to Trump.

Trump writes: "They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about “Trump.” He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!"

As we've been reporting, the charges are yet to be unsealed by court officials in Miami so we are yet to have concrete details of the indictment and if anyone else is on it.