Politics

Here are the charges and how many years Trump faces in federal Mar-a-Lago indictment

The federal indictment lodged against former president Donald Trump includes seven charges that carry a maximum 75-year prison sentence if convicted on all counts.

The 76-year-old former commander-in-chief was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on criminal charges relating to his alleged mishandling of classified White House documents that were recovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and allegations he tried to obstruct the government’s attempts to retrieve them.

The charges against Trump include: willfully retaining the national defense documents, conspiring to obstruct justice, withholding the documents, corruptly concealing the records, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal and making false statements, sources told ABC News.

All seven charges “break out from an Espionage Act charge,” his lawyer Jim Trusty confirmed to CNN.

“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,” Trusty said.

Each charge could carry a prison sentence.

Former President Trump addressed the indictments on his Truth Social account, Thursday evening. TruthSocial / @realDonaldTrump

Retaining classified documents

Trump is accused of hoarding hundreds of classified materials inside his Palm Beach resort that were recovered in two separate FBI raids last year.

He claimed he declassified everything that came from the White House, adding that a president has the authority to declassify material “even by thinking about it.” 

A section of the Espionage Act prohibits any individual — including the president — from “willfully retain[ing]” national defense information and “fail[ing] to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it.”

Documents were seized during the Aug. 8, 2022, FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. AP

The statute carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and/or a fine.

Conspiring to obstruct justice

The ex-commander-in-chief is accused of telling others to mislead government officials while they were working on gathering the classified documents in his possession, a crime that would constitute an obstruction of justice charge.

Federal law prohibits anyone from making “threats or force” that would “influence, intimidate, or impede” any US officials from conducting their work.

The Mar-a-Lago Club is the home of Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida. AFP via Getty Images

The statute carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and/or a fine.

Withholding a document or record

Investigators allege that Trump purposely leafed through some of the boxes of top-secret government documents in an apparent effort to retain some of the material.

Similar to the Espionage Act charge, the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material charge prohibits an individual from “knowingly removing such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location.”

The statute carries a maximum sentence of 5 years and/or a fine.

The charges against Trump includes willfully retaining the national defense documents, conspiring to obstruct justice, withholding the documents, and corruptly concealing the records. AFP via Getty Images

Corruptly concealing a document or record

The corruptly concealing a document charge includes language for both threatening others to mislead a federal investigation and illegally retaining classified documents, both of which Trump is accused of doing.

The charge targets “whoever corruptly alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other objects, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.”

Aides are seen carrying boxes to Marine One before Trump departed from the White House on his final day in office, in Washington, DC. AFP via Getty Images

The charge carries one of the heftiest sentences — Trump could face a 20-year punishment and/or a fine.

Concealing a document in a federal investigation

Trump could face another two decades if convicted of purposefully hiding the classified documents while federal investigators were searching for them inside his private residences last year.

“Whoever tampers with evidence, such as by altering, destroying, or concealing a record, document or other tangible objects with an intent to obstruct or impede a court proceeding can be punished,” according to the statute.

The statute carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and/or a fine.

Here's what to know about former President Donald Trump's federal indictment

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to mishandling classified White House documents that were recovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump unlawfully kept hundreds of documents after leaving office — including papers detailing America’s conventional and nuclear weapons programs, potential weak points in US defenses, and plans to respond to a foreign attack, federal prosecutors charged Friday.

The 45th president stored boxes containing the documents throughout his estate, including “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room,” according to a 49-page indictment filed in Miami federal court Thursday.


Follow The Post’s coverage of former President Trump’s federal indictment


The indictment against Trump was unsealed hours after the 77-year-old announced he had been charged by Jack Smith, the special counsel tapped in November to examine Trump’s retention of official documents at Mar-a-Lago.

The indictment is the former commander-in-chief’s second since leaving office and marks the first time in US history a former president has faced federal charges.

In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg related to hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. 

READ MORE

Scheme to conceal

Trump is accused of knowingly hiding the classified documents while and immediately after serving within the “executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States,” according to the statute.

The statute carries a maximum sentence of 5 years and/or a fine.

If found to have been involved in domestic terrorism, the charge could land Trump an 8-year sentence.

False statements and representations

Finally, for allegedly lying about keeping top-secret government papers inside his private home, Trump could face charges for making false statements and representations.

The statute carries a maximum sentence of 5 years and/or a fine.

If convicted on all seven charges, the ex-president could face a 75-year prison sentence.