WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the special counsel’s investigation into his handling of classified documents, making Trump the first former president to face federal criminal charges.
In a statement on social media Thursday, Trump confirmed he has been told he has been indicted, calling the investigation a hoax.
“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote.
Sources say the indictment includes charges of false statements and conspiracy to obstruct. The 7 charges do not mean 7 counts- as there can be multiple counts associated with each charge.
The charges were first reported by The New York Times.
A spokesperson for the special counsel declined to comment as the indictment is under seal until Tuesday.
Minutes after the indictment hit the news, Trump sent out a fundraising email to his supporters, calling on them to support him under legal troubles.
“The Biden-appointed Special Counsel has INDICTED me in yet another witch hunt regarding documents that I had the RIGHT to declassify as President of the United States,” the fundraising email said, asking supporters to “make a contribution to peacefully stand” with him.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing associated with classified materials and said on a CNN Town Hall earlier this month he had every right to take them.
“I had every right to do it, I didn’t make a secret of it. You know, the boxes were stationed outside the White House, people were taking pictures of it,” Trump told moderator Kaitlan Collins.
In a four-minute video posted to social media, Trump declared his innocence and called the probe “a hoax.”
“I’m an innocent person,” he said. “I did nothing wrong. And we will fight this out just like we’ve been fighting for seven years. It would be wonderful if we could devote our full time to making America great again.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released a statement and said he would pardon Trump if elected.
“I never thought we would see the day when the U.S. President deputizes the DOJ to arrest his lead rival in the middle of an election,” he said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information.
