Closing summary
It’s now just after midnight in New Jersey, and we’re wrapping our live coverage of Trump’s indictment. Here’s where things stand:
Trump was criminally indicted after federal prosecutors spent more than a year investigating whether he illegally retained classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago and intentionally misled federal officials in an attempt to keep them.
The investigation is headed by special counsel Jack Smith, a former chief prosecutor of the Hague, who was charged with both this probe and a separate one focused on Trump’s involvement in the January 6 attack. These charges only reflect the results of the first investigation.
Trump’s lawyer Jim Trusty has said the summons refers to around seven charges which broadly fall under the Espionage Act, and include false statements, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and illegally retaining classified documents. The former president will appear in person on Tuesday at the courtroom to meet the indictment, his lawyers said.
The problem began back in May 2021, when the National Archives and Records Administration began requesting missing documents from the former president. After some initial pushback, Trump’s attorneys returned 15 boxes of records that included classified documents.
After the Trump team told federal investigators that all classified materials had been returned, the FBI conducted a raid on Mar-a-Lago last August and found more than 100 documents.
Included in the evidence is a recording of Trump where he talks about a classified document in his possession. This is important because it refutes his claim that he declassified the materials in his possession while he was president.
Trump continues to insist the investigation and resulting indictment are politically motivated and has used the charges to rally his base and rake in fundraising dollars for his campaign to retake the White House. But some polls show non-Republican voters aren’t as easily convinced.
Political allies have voiced their support, with US House speaker Kevin McCarthy promising to use his position to come to Trump’s defense. Calling it a “dark day” for the country, the top Republican in the House tweeted, “House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”
You can continue to follow The Guardian’s coverage and analysis of the indictment and Donald Trump here.
While the indictment is historic – marking the first time a former president will face criminal charges – neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Polling has also shown that the indictment is unlikely to turn his existing supporters off – and may even galvanise their support. Surveyed in a USA Today/Suffolk poll in April, two-thirds of his supporters said an indictment would not make a difference to their view of Trump. Almost all of the remaining third said the indictments would make them more likely to support him, not less likely: 27% compared to 4%.
According to Pew Research surveying conducted last year, just 7% of Republican supporters say investigations into Donald Trump and his administration are very important to their vote in the coming election.
