Full Trump Indictment Released, 37 Charges Detailed

The full federal indictment against former President Donald Trump was released Friday, offering a look into the findings of a yearlong investigation by the Department of Justice. 

Details: Trump faces 37 federal charges, and Walt Nauta, Trump’s former personal aide, faces six charges. Trump’s charges include 31 counts of “Willful Retention of National Defense Information,” with the remaining six charges being single-counts of “Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice,” “Withholding a Document or Record,” “Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record,” “Concealing a Document in a Federal Investigation,” “Scheme to Conceal,” and “False Statements and Representations.” 

Key Quotes: The indictment states Trump illegally kept documents about “United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” which, if improperly disclosed, could “put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collections methods” The indictment contains a transcript of an audio recording of Trump speaking with people at one of his clubs about a document in his possession, stating, “See as president I could have declassified it. Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”

How The Media Is Covered It: Left-rated outlets are more heavily highlighting the time and effort that went into the investigation. Right-rated outlets are more heavily highlighting concerns from Republican lawmakers that the indictment is politically motivated.