Global Courant
Former President Donald Trump will make his first public appearance Saturday afternoon since his federal indictment over his handling of classified documents when he addresses Republicans’ state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina as part of his 2024 presidential bid.
The 2024 frontrunner was indicted Friday on 37 federal counts, including willful withholding of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.
The indictment accuses Trump of failing to comply with demands to return classified documents — including plans for a retaliatory strike against an unnamed foreign power — that he had collected at Mar-a-Lago. Other documents include US defense and weapons capabilities and details of the US nuclear program.
TRUMP STATED ON 37 FEDERAL COUNTS OF SPECIAL ADVISOR JACK SMITH’S INVESTIGATION OF CLASSIFIED RECORDS
Former US President Donald Trump arrives to meet with local Republican leaders at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale, Iowa, USA on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could pose a risk to the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the security of the United States military and human resources, and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence gathering methods,” it said. the charge.
It also accuses him of storing the documents in a bathroom and other places in the residence, even bragging and showing off the documents to visitors. In one instance, he allegedly told individuals a document “as president I could have released it” and, “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
He also allegedly instructed an assistant to move boxes of documents demanded by a grand jury subpoena, while claiming to have fully cooperated. The FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter in March 2022.
Trump has dismissed the charges as “election interference” and a witch hunt.
“This is the most corrupt administration in history — there has never been a government this corrupt before, and they are just now starting to discover it,” Trump told Fox News Digital this week. “They’re trying to deflect all their dishonesty by bringing this ridiculous Box Hoax case.”
He added: “They’re not getting away with it.”
EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP SAYS ANNOUNCEMENT IS ‘ELECTION INBREACHING AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL’
Trump is likely to express similar sentiments on Saturday when he will speak to overwhelmingly supportive crowds that will largely share his belief that the allegations are politically motivated.
EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP SAYS ANNOUNCEMENT IS ‘ELECTION INBREACHING AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL’
The indictment adds additional legal turmoil to Trump’s re-election bid after he was indicted in New York earlier this year over an alleged hush money scheme. He will appear in federal court for the first time on Tuesday.
Other Republicans on the campaign trail, including those who have been extremely critical of the former president, have so far largely refused to attack him over the charges and shared a sentiment that the prosecution is politically motivated.
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“The arming of federal law enforcement poses a deadly threat to a free society. For years we have witnessed an uneven application of the law depending on political affiliation,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said when news of the indictment broke. came out.
Brooke Singman, Jake Gibson and Bill Mears of Fox News contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at [email protected] or at Twitter.
