Secret Documents Case: The charges that could spell doom for Donald Trump

Donald Trump has made history yet again by becoming the first former US president to be federally indicted. Trump, who was indicted for mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, took to his platform on Truth Social and lashed out at the US government. “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote. Trump said on Truth Social that he was “summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.” That’s the day before his 77th birthday. **Also read: Donald Trump is indicted again: What is the classified documents case?** Trump attorney Jim Trusty told CNN that his client has been indicted on seven charges including the willful retention of documents in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice and a count of conspiracy. Let’s take a closer look at the charges in detail:  Illegally keeping documents Trump has been charged with illegally keeping documents under the Espionage Act, which polices the handling of government secrets. According to MSNBC, federal law 18 USC 793(e) (gathering, transmitting or losing defence information), comes under the Espionage Act that Congress enacted during the first World War. According to The New York Times, taking documents pertaining to national security without permission and not turning them over to a government official authorised to take custody of them is a crime under this Act. Prosecutors need to demonstrate that Trump was aware he had the documents after leaving office and then did not return them after being asked and subpoenaed by the government. “In Trump’s potential case, the National Archives and Records Administration was entitled to receive the records Trump kept at Mar-a-Lago and failed to deliver. That section of the Espionage Act wouldn’t require Trump, for example, to share the documents with a foreign government in order to be charged,” Jordan Rubin wrote for MSNBC. [caption id=“attachment_12714472” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] An aerial view of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI conducted searches on this property last August. File photo/AP[/caption] The justice department first began investigating after the 15 boxes were found to contain national defense information, including 184 documents marked as confidential, secret or top secret.

A violation of this law carries a 10-year prison sentence.

However, violators in similar cases have received much less prison time than the maximum, as per The New York Times. While this comes under the Espionage Act, it is important to note it does not pertain specifically to the act of spying. “…if you see a Trump indictment containing Espionage Act charges, it won’t necessarily be an allegation — and therefore won’t be a requirement to prove — that he was working as a spy,” Rubin noted for MSNBC.  Making false statements According to The New York Times, lying to an investigating officer about a material fact is a crime. The maximum sentence for this offence is five years. The newspaper noted that though Trump is not known to have directly made such statements to the federal government, he could be charged if they can show he conspired with or induced another person to lie to the justice department about there being no further documents responsive to the subpoena. Trump could also be charged if he led his lawyers to lie to the justice department. The law states “whoever willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal,” as per The New York Times. Obstruction of justice  According to CNN, obstruction of justice is covered by federal law 18 USC 1519. This law states: “Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.” According to CNN, defendants are charged under this law when prosecutors believe their probe was intentionally hindered – for example by moving evidence from one place to another, by possibly questioning complying with issued subpoenas, failing to fully cooperate with a subpoena or falsely telling prosecutors the files had been given back. According to MSNBC, the prosecution would need to show that Trump knew he had the documents that the National Archives and Record Administration were attempting to take into their possession. They would also need to show he deliberately defied the justice department’s subpoena for files marked ‘classified’ and that he purposefully led his aides to fail to turn them over. [caption id=“attachment_12714332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A January 20 2021 photo shows aides carrying boxes to Marine One before US president Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump departed from the White House on Trump’s final day in office, in Washington, DC. The former US president has now been charged in the classified documentd case. File photo/AFP[/caption] All this, while claiming to officials that they had in fact done so.  Conspiracy According to The New York Times, deciding to break the law in concert with another person is a crime. “All conspiracy means is an agreement between two or more people to violate the law, a meeting of the minds,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig explained. Prosecutors need to demonstrate such a ‘meeting of the minds’ between the former president and another individual and that they actually took some action to achieving the same.

The maximum prison time a conspiracy charge can fetch is five years, as per the newspaper.

People familiar with the matter told The New York Times the conspiracy charge was related to obstruction of justice. While the other charges remain unknown, the newspaper speculated that they could possibly be mishandling official documents and contempt of court. Even more trouble on horizon The case is a milestone for a Justice Department that had investigated Trump for years — as president and private citizen — but had never before charged him with a crime. The most notable investigation was an earlier special counsel probe into ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia, but prosecutors in that probe cited Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president. Once he left office, though, he lost that protection. The inquiry took a major step forward last November when Attorney General Merrick Garland, a soft-spoken former federal judge who has long stated that no person should be regarded as above the law, appointed Jack Smith, a war crimes prosecutor with an aggressive, hard-charging reputation to lead both the documents probe as well as a separate investigation into efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

But Trump’s legal troubles extend beyond the New York indictment and classified documents case.

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Smith is separately investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the district attorney in Georgia’s Fulton County is investigating Trump over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election in that state. Signs had mounted for weeks that an indictment was near, including a Monday meeting between Trump’s lawyers and Justice Department officials. His lawyers had also recently been notified that he was the target of the investigation, the clearest sign yet that an indictment was looming. [caption id=“attachment_12457432” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. AP[/caption] Though the bulk of the investigative work had been handled in Washington, with a grand jury meeting there for months, it recently emerged that prosecutors were presenting evidence before a separate panel in Florida, where many of the alleged acts of obstruction scrutinized by prosecutors took place. It remains unclear how much it will damage Trump’s standing given that his first indictment generated millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and didn’t weaken him in the polls. But no matter what, the indictment – and legal fight that follows – will throw Trump back into the spotlight, sucking attention away from the other candidates who are trying to build momentum in the race. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.