Trump Becomes First Former US President To Face Federal Charges; Summoned To Miami Court

Former United States President Donald Trump faces his most serious legal threat, as he claimed on Thursday (8 June) that he has been indicted for mishandling classified documents. This comes amidst a barge of several criminal investigations against him, which may jeopardize his chances for a second White House term.

The former President wrote on his platform, Truth Social - "The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax." Notably, this marks the first time in US history that a current or past commander-in-chief has been slapped with federal charges.

While Trump claimed he was indicted, the Justice Department is yet to confirm the same. However, certain US media sources, such as The New York Times, have claimed that he had been indicted.

Trump further wrote in his port that he was called to appear in a federal courthouse in Miami on next Tuesday, calling it "Unimaginable" for an ex-President of the US.

This comes a day after US media reported that federal prosecutors had informing Trump's lawyers that he is the target of a probe involving classified documents. In March, Manhattan's district attorney had indicted him for election-eve hush money payments made to a porn star who claimed to have an affair with him. He had then thus became the first ex or sitting president to be charged with a crime.

However, Thursday's charges against Trump remained unclear. Trump, who turns 77 next week, persists in denying any wrongdoing.

According to US Media reports, US Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to investigate Trump's stash of classified documents stored in Mar-a-Lago after his White House tenure. The FBI has seized 11,000 papers from Mar-a-Lago in August through a warrant. Reportedly, Trump's obstruction of justice charges may also increase as he had been delaying the recovery process.

In January last year, Trump surrendered 15 boxes with nearly 200 classified documents to the National Archives. However, he was subpoenaed for any other remaining records.

Investigators are reviewing alleged obstruction attempts to access Mar-a-Lago's storage room documents. The suspicions relate to security camera footage access issues.

In June, during a Fox News town hall event, even as Trump denied any wrongdoing in the documents case, he admitted taking and storing the documents despite his lawyers' claim of accidental acquisition during a chaotic departure.

US Counsel General Appointee Smith is looking at charges against Trump for the 2021 Capitol riot, while Georgia prosecutors are investigating his alleged illegal attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.

Notably, he is set to face trial in March, coinciding with the primary election period.