Former President Donald Trump was federally indicted on Thursday on charges of willful retention of classified national-security information, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The indictment was unsealed on Friday afternoon and revealed that Trump had taken material from the White House after his presidency, stored it in Mar-a-Lago, and refused to return it. The charges are serious and pertain to classified information regarding defense and weapons capabilities, United States nuclear programs, and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack. This is not a technical offense; it is a threat to United States national security fueled solely by Trump’s demented behavior and sense of self-entitlement.
The indictment contains evidentiary submissions, including photographs and excerpts of recorded conversations, making it clear that Trump is guilty of illegally retaining and comically insecurely storing classified documents. Trump even waved top-secret battle plans against Iran around in a random conversation with journalists while complaining about General Mark Milley, his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In so doing, he admitted that what he was doing was illegal because the documents were highly classified and he couldn’t declassify them anymore.
The former president attempted to conceal possession of the documents and later refused to return them, leading to obstruction and conspiracy charges. Trump directed a flunky to move boxes full of classified information from their unsecure storage space at Mar-a-Lago to his home on the property, so that his own attorney wouldn’t find out he was lying about them.
The indictment is shocking, and the charges against Trump are serious. His lawbreaking in this case is dangerous and contemptuous, and he is continuing to break the law. If Trump is so far gone in his dotage that he’s sharing classified war-zone maps of Afghanistan with Kid Rock in order to impress him, there is a need to move to stop him immediately. Trump’s primary objection to Hillary Clinton is personal, but her dishonesty and indifference to the rule of law are the gangster standard he has always aspired to embody for his benefit, not America’s.
It is up to individuals to decide whether to support him in the 2024 campaign or not. However, the indictment is a reminder that Trump’s actions threaten national security and the rule of law.
