Trump's attorney confirms former president faces 7-count indictment
From CNN's Kaanita Iyer
Donald Trump's attorney Jim Trusty confirmed Thursday night that the former president has been charged with seven counts – and revealed that the charges “break out from an Espionage Act charge.”
"It does have some language in it that suggests what the seven charges would be. Not 100% clear that all of those are separate charges, but they basically break out from an Espionage Act charge," he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Trusty called the espionage charge “ludicrous,” and added that there are also “several obstruction-based-type charges and then false statement charges.”
He said his team did not get a copy of the indictment but instead received a summons via email. Trusty refused to reveal when his team received the initial letter from the Justice Department that listed Trump as a target of their investigation.
He confirmed that Trump will appear in court Tuesday but would not say which attorneys will be present with the former president.
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10:12 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Miami police say they're ready to help federal partners for Trump court appearance
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
Miami-Dade police say they are ready to help if called upon by federal partners for the court appearance of former President Donald Trump.
“The Miami-Dade Police Department has not received any federal requests for security support," spokesperson Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement. "Along with our partners at the City of Miami Police Department, we are prepared to provide any assistance, support and resources that may be needed."
Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified documents probe, as CNN previously reported.
The former president wrote on Truth Social that he was “summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.”
9:44 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Secret Service will meet with staff tomorrow to start security planning for Trump indictment
From CNN's Zachary Cohen
The US Secret Service will meet with staff tomorrow morning and begin security planning related to former President Donald Trump's indictment, a source familiar tells CNN.
The service was not given a heads up before Trump was notified of the indictment, the source said, adding preparations will begin accordingly tomorrow morning.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters about the debt limit at the Capitol in Washington on May 28, 2023. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that "today is indeed a dark day" for the country following news of former President Donald Trump's indictment in the special counsel’s classified documents probe.
"It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him. Joe Biden kept classified documents for decades," McCarthy said on Twitter. "I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable."
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9:31 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Donald Trump faces another historic indictment. Here's what you need to know
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified documents probe, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The federal indictment is the second time that Trump has been charged criminally this year. In April, the Manhattan district attorney charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
But the special counsel indictment marks a new and more perilous legal phase for Trump, who is running for president again in 2024 while facing criminal charges in two jurisdictions – and with two additional investigations into his conduct still underway.
Here's a breakdown of what's going on in Florida and what we know about the fast-developing situation:
The investigation: Special counsel Jack Smith has been investigating Trump's handling of national security records at his Mar-a-Lago resort and elsewhere. His team is trying to determine if Trump or his aides committed crimes by keeping the documents after his presidency. Those were sensitive government documents that Trump had no legal right to hold on to, prosecutors have said in court filings.
The charges: Trump has been charged with seven counts in the indictment, according to a source familiar with the matter, and at least one of them is conspiracy. The indictment remains sealed, and the Justice Department has not made any formal announcement.
Trump denies wrongdoing: Trump denies all wrongdoing and says the probe is political. In a four-minute video, he repeated many of his past claims — including that the Justice Department is being weaponized and that investigations into his alleged misconduct are “election interference.”
Why Florida? As part of the inquiry, witnesses have testified to grand juries in both Washington, DC, and Miami. Prosecutors can't simply file charges wherever they please: They need to establish that they have the proper venue, and they need to connect part of the crime to where the case is filed. A significant amount of the conduct under investigation occurred in Mar-a-Lago, located in Palm Beach. Smith faced hurdles if he wanted to bring the case in DC instead of Florida, where the jury pool might be more friendly to Trump.
How this differs from other recent cases:President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence both recently found classified papers at their homes from their time as vice president — it's a common occurrence in White House transitions. But Trump's case appears to be far more serious, because of the sheer volume of classified records involved, and because of his repeated efforts to stymie federal officials who tried to claw back the materials.
What's next? Trump says he was “summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.” Now Trump will face federal charges from the special counsel at the same time that he is trying to unseat President Joe Biden in next year’s presidential election.
You can read more here, including details about the pair of grand juries involved in the case, and the specific laws Trump may have violated.
CNN's Paula Reid, Kristen Holmes, Jeremy Herb and Evan Perez contributed to this report.
9:16 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Trump and his aides are "ready to fight back," source says
From CNN's Alayna Treene and Kristen Holmes
Donald Trump and his advisers are "very jacked up right now," a person who spoke with the former president told CNN. The team feels emboldened by the federal indictment, and is "ready to fight back," the person said.
While Trump and some of his aides may feel emboldened now, others close to the former president have expressed concern.
Despite possibly giving Trump a boost in polls and fundraising that could help him in the Republican primary, several top advisers know the risk associated with a federal indictment and believe it will hurt Trump in the long term.
Trump and his team had been bracing for a potential indictment in the investigation into his handling of classified documents. However, many of them were shocked to learn of the actual indictment earlier tonight. Multiple sources told CNN they are still trying to figure out what exactly the charges are.
As of now Trump is still expected to attend his campaign stops in Georgia and North Carolina this weekend, his adviser told CNN.
Sources also noted that it was likely that Trump was going to want to address the charges.
It is still unclear what that will look like, although two sources familiar said it was likely to mirror what was seen after the Manhattan indictment when Trump gave remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort after his arraignment.
9:24 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Law enforcement did not get advance notice of Trump indictment announcement
From CNN's Evan Perez
Logo of the Secret Service of the United States of America pictured at the embassy of the USA in Berlin, Germany, on August 10, 2007. Michael Sohn/AP/File
In a sign of how tightly held the special counsel kept word of the indictment, the US Secret Service and US Marshals did not get advance notice about the charges and were surprised by the announcement on social media by former President Donald Trump, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
The Secret Service protects the former president, and the Marshals protect courts and judges.
Law enforcement is now scrambling to prepare for the court appearance next week in Miami, the officials said.
9:47 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Trump indictment in classified documents probe comes just months after being charged in separate New York case
From CNN's Dan Berman
Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court with members of his legal team for an arraignment on charges stemming from his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City on April 4, 2023. Curtis Means/Pool/Reuters/File
Former President Donald Trump was charged in a Manhattan criminal court in April with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his role in a hush money payment scheme involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels late in the 2016 presidential campaign.
The former president surrendered and was placed under arrest on April 4, before he was arraigned in a historic and unprecedented court appearance, at which he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, accuse Trump of falsifying business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign.
The indictment has sent shockwaves across the country, pushing the American political system – which has never seen one of its ex-leaders confronted with criminal charges, let alone while running again for president – into uncharted waters.
The $130,000 payment was paid by former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to Daniels to remain quiet about an alleged affair between Daniels and Trump years earlier.Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated. Trump is now seeking to move the case to federal court.
Other legal woes: Also in Manhattan, a federal jury found Trump sexually abused former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and awarded her about $5 million in the battery and defamation civil case.
In Atlanta, a select grand jury has investigated the efforts by Trump and allies to overturn his election loss in Georgia in 2020.
Read about additional Trump legal challenges here.
9:04 p.m. ET, June 8, 2023
Trump says he's been summoned to appear in court Tuesday in Miami and maintains he's innocent
From CNN's Evan Perez
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023 on March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Alex Brandon/AP
Former President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he has been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. local time.
In a statement echoing his Truth Social posts, Trump called it a "dark day" for the country following his indictment in the classified documents investigation.
“I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump said in the statement.
Trump also released a video Thursday evening, declaring he is "an innocent man."
"I did nothing wrong," he says in the four-minute video, which repeats many of his past claims — including that the Justice Department is being weaponized and that investigations into his alleged misconduct are “election interference.”
Trump ends the video by saying: “I am innocent and we will prove that very, very soundly and hopefully very quickly.”
