Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been charged with misconduct classified documents at his Florida home, sparking a federal trial of arguably the most serious of the multiple legal threats against the former president as he sought to regain the White House.
The Justice Department did not immediately publicly confirm the indictment.
Trump is currently in Bedminster, New Jersey. A person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly said that prosecutors contacted Trump’s lawyers shortly before he announced on his platform, Truth Social, that he had been charged.
Within 20 minutes of his announcement, Trump began raising money for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump said he would appear in court on Tuesday afternoon in Miami.
The case adds to the heightened legal risk for Trump, who is already indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that could also lead to criminal charges. As the prosecution progresses, Trump’s allegations of sweeping executive power will pit against Attorney General Merrick Garland’s oft-stated mantra that no one, including the former commander-in-chief, should be considered above the law.
The indictment stems from a month-long investigation he conducted Special Attorney Jack Smith about whether Trump broke the law by holding on to hundreds of documents that were tagged classified at his Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, property, and whether Trump took steps to block government efforts to recover the records.
Prosecutors said Trump transferred nearly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House. Including about 100 that were seized by the FBI last August In the house search, which highlighted the seriousness of the Ministry of Justice investigation.
Trump and his team have long viewed the special counsel’s investigation as far more serious than the New York affair — both politically and legally. Campaign aides have been preparing for the fallout ever since Trump’s lawyer was notified that he was the target of an investigation, assuming it wasn’t a matter of if, but when, charges would be pressed.
But it remains unclear what the immediate and long-term political consequences will be for Trump. His first indictment spurred millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and did not hurt Trump in the polls. No matter what, the indictment – and the legal battle that follows – will put Trump back in the spotlight, drawing attention away from other candidates trying to build momentum in the 2024 presidential race.