Actually Trump was indicted on 37 counts, not 7
Trump was indicted yesterday for the second time.
- This time it was by the Justice Department over mishandling of classified documents.
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday was indicted for the second time. Initial reports from most major publications — including Insider — said Trump faced 7 counts from the Department of Justice. But the actual indictment, unsealed Friday afternoon, reveals he's actually facing 37 counts. Oops.
Counts 1-31 are over alleged violations of the Espionage Act for "willful retention of national defense information." Prosecutors also say Trump conspired to obstruct justice, lied to law enforcement, and violated three different statutes related to withholding and concealing government records. The indictment also contains a 38th count, against Trump's aide Waltine Nauta.
How did we screw up the number? Well, it wasn't all the media's fault: No less an authority than Trump's now-former attorney Jim Trusty, who resigned this morning, told CNN last night that the charges numbered seven. "It doesn't perfectly mirror an indictment, but it does have some language suggesting what the seven charges would be," he said, describing the summons that his client had received.
Maybe Trusty's fax machine was running out of ink, and the "3" in the 37 counts was obscured. Or it could be that he confused the seven statutes that Trump is accused of violating with the 37 instances of violation he is charged with. Either way — it's 37, not 7.
According to the unsealed indictment, Trump privately praised the lawyer who deleted Hillary Clinton's emails and stored classified documents in one of Mar-a-Lago's shower.
The boxes stored at Mar-a-Lago contained hundreds of classified documents, some of which the DOJ says had information about US nuclear programs, the defense capabilities of the US, and vulnerabilities the US had to military attacks.
Trump is expected to surrender to authorities on Tuesday in Miami. Friday morning, two of Trump's lawyers announced they quit.
"This morning we tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation," Jim Trusty and John Rowley wrote in a statement shared with Insider.
Read the full unsealed indictment against Trump here.