KEY POINTS
- Former United States president Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges.
- The criminal charges stem from his treatment of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House.
- Photos show boxes allegedly containing classified information in various places at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
A classified document relating to an intelligence-sharing alliance of which Australia is a member was among those allegedly found on the floor of the storage room at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, according to an unsealed indictment against the former United States president.
The indictment, released by the US Department of Justice on Friday, shows Mr Trump faces 37 federal criminal charges that stem from his treatment of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021.
Trump ramps up attacks on Justice Department post-charges
Mr Trump, who denies wrongdoing, is accused of mishandling classified documents that include information about the secretive US nuclear program and potential domestic vulnerabilities in the event of an attack.
He used his first public appearance on Saturday to ratchet up attacks on the Justice Department, accusing prosecutors, without evidence, of a politically-motivated campaign to keep him from the White House.
Former US president Donald Trump faces 37 federal criminal charges that stem from his treatment of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021. Credit: Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
"This vicious persecution is a travesty of justice."
A former aide, Walt Nauta, is also facing charges in the case.
The indictment includes photos of where Mr Trump allegedly stored boxes containing the documents at his Florida resort.
What do the boxes contain?
It states that in early December 2021, Mr Nauta found several boxes in a storage room had fallen and their contents spilled onto the floor.
One was labelled "SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY", a marking which denoted that the information in the document was releasable only to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States", according to the indictment.
It's claimed Mr Nauta sent a text message to an unknown Trump staffer saying, “I opened the door and found this...”, along with two photos of the spilled documents.
When asked about the Five Eyes document alleged to have been found at Mr Trump's resort, Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Saturday said the Five Eyes intelligence alliance was "important" but would not comment further.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong was asked about the document relating to Australia by a reporter on Saturday. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
"They are matters for the United States to deal with. And we will leave that process to get underway."
Other photos show Mr Trump's boxes in a bathroom, and on a ballroom stage.
"From January through March 15, 2021, some of TRUMP's boxes were stored in The Mar-a-Lago Club's White and Gold Ballroom, in which events and gatherings took place. TRUMP's boxes were for a time stacked on the ballroom's stage," the indictment said.
Documents containing classified material were at one point stored in the ballroom of Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, according to the indictment against him. Credit: US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA
On one of these occasions, he is said to have showed and described a “plan of attack” that was prepared for him by the US defence department and a senior military official to a writer, publisher, and two staff members, none of whom possessed a security clearance.
"As president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," Mr Trump said, according to prosecutors.
Boxes of secret documents were also allegedly stored in a bathroom at Mr Trump's Florida resort. Source: AAP, AP / AP
"Wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here?" Mr Trump allegedly said to one of his lawyers, according to the indictment.
Investigators seized roughly 13,000 documents in Palm Beach, Florida, nearly a year ago.
One hundred were marked as classified, even though one of Mr Trump's lawyers had previously said all records with classified markings had been returned to the government.
Mr Trump has previously said he declassified those documents while president, but his lawyers have not made that argument in court filings.
Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2024, is expected to appear at a federal court in Florida on Tuesday — a day before his 77th birthday.
What is an indictment?
A prosecutor can secure an indictment — a formal accusation — by presenting their case to a grand jury, which is composed of 16 to 23 community members selected at random.
If a simple majority of grand jurors vote that there is enough evidence to charge a person with a crime, an indictment is issued. It does not guarantee a trial will proceed.
Mr Trump's lawyers are expected to file a motion to dismiss the case for a variety of reasons, including his claim he declassified the documents before taking them, and are likely to argue the case should be tossed out for what they allege was misconduct by prosecutors, including alleged violations of a legal doctrine that permits people to keep communications with their lawyers private.
Motions to dismiss in criminal cases are standard but rarely succeed because defendants face a high burden to convince a judge their case is too flawed to even go before a jury.
It is the second time Mr Trump has been indicted. The first was in March this year over he allegedly paid to former porn star Stormy Daniels.
With additional reporting by Reuters via the Australian Associated Press.
