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Former President Donald Trump has been charged for a second time, sources say

The former president insists the case is a "hoax" in a post
Posted: 4:36 PM, Jun 08, 2023
Updated: 2023-06-09 01:35:47-04
Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for a second time, this time on federal charges in relation to his handling of classified information while out of office, sources familiar confirm to ABC News.

He has been issued a summons to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, sources said.

TIMELINE: What led to Trump's federal indictment in documents case

“We’re learning from our sources that there appears to be at least seven counts here. This ranges from everything from the willful retention of national defense information to conspiracy to a scheme to conceal to false statements and representations," ABC News' Katherine Faulders reported on during a special report on the network.

In a statement on social media, Trump wrote that he had been told of the indictment and insisted the case was a "hoax." He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

He wrote that he is "INNOCENT."

Read his full statement on social media below:

"The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is “secured” by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time.

I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!

This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!"

The unprecedented federal indictment of a former president -- who already faces a criminal case in New York City that he denies and who is the current front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination for the White House in 2024 -- further underlines what are potentially the most consequential prosecutions in U.S. history, with implications both global and domestic.

Experts say that a current U.S. government criminally prosecuting its former leader and current leading opposition party candidate upends long-held norms and could test the nation's democratic system in a manner that stretches far beyond the merits of the case itself.

The federal probe has been led by special counsel Jack Smith, who was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to oversee the Department of Justice's investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Smith is also overseeing the investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Central to Smith's efforts in the classified documents probe is determining whether lawyers who represented the former president falsely certified in response to a grand jury subpoena that Trump had returned all classified records to the government, or whether Trump himself sought to conceal records that he might have unlawfully retained.

As ABC News previously reported, prosecutors in the special counsel's office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified material after leaving office in early 2021, according to sources who described the contents of a sealed filing from a top federal judge.

In early 2022, sources told ABC News, National Archives officials asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump's handling of White House records after the National Archives in January retrieved 15 boxes of records from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that had been improperly taken in violation of the Presidential Records Act.

The DOJ probe hit a critical point on Aug. 8, 2022, when Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida was searched by FBI agents.

Federal investigators seized more than 100 documents with classified markings during the search, according to an unsealed detailed inventory list. From Trump‘s office alone, there were 43 empty folders seized with classified banners.

The property inventory list also showed that agents gathered more than 11,000 documents or photographs without classification markings, all of which were described as property of the U.S. government.

Since the August search, Trump and his legal team have found additional classified documents and have received additional subpoenas for information the government believes could still be in Trump's possession.

The former president, who in April pleaded not guilty to unrelated criminal charges that he falsified business records in connection with a hush money payment made in the days before the 2016 election, has said he will stay in the 2024 presidential race despite any indictments.

In addition to Smith's probes, Trump is also under investigation in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in that state.

RESPONSES TO NEWS OF INDICTMENT

Kari Lake, who ran for Arizona governor and lost in 2022, tweeted in response to the news.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly sent a statement following the indictment:

"Our country is founded on the rule of law. Any charges against a former president are serious and must be reviewed with the scrutiny required by our Constitution and laws to ensure justice. The justice system must remain independent and free of political interference."

Congressman Ruben Gallego sent a statement following the indictment:

"This is a serious indictment, and as such it shouldn't be handled lightly. As I've stated previously, we must respect the rule of law and let the legal process play out."

This is a breaking news situation. Stay with abc15.com for the latest updates.