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Trump Indicted in Classified Documents Probe

ABOVE: Former United States President Donald Trump arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 04, 2023 in New York City. With the indictment, Trump becomes the first former United States president in history to be charged with a criminal offense. (Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Donald J. Trump has been indicted by […]
The post Trump Indicted in Classified Documents Probe first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

June 14, 2023

Forward Times Staff

Donald J. Trump has been indicted by a grand jury for mishandling of classified documents. The indictment, filed in a Florida federal court, makes Trump the first former president ever to face federal charges.

Trump announced the indictment last Thursday night in a post on his network, Truth Social. He said his lawyers had been informed of the charges. In an online video statement, Trump claimed that the case is politically motivated and that he will prove his innocence. “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” he wrote.

But federal prosecutors paint a very different picture. When the indictment was unsealed Friday morning, it revealed 38 charges; Trump faces 37 counts, including 31 for retaining documents in violation of the Espionage Act. (Passed in 1917, the Espionage Act prohibits obtaining or disclosing information related to national defense if it could harm the United States.) Trump’s personal aide, Waltine Nauta faces six counts as Trump’s “co-conspirator.”

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 9: In this photo illustration, pages are viewed from the unsealed federal indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on June 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been indicted on 37 felony counts in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents probe. (Photo Illustration by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Background

When he left the White House in January 2021, Donald Trump had “scores of boxes” transported to Mar-a-Lago, his home in Florida. These boxes contained classified material (meaning that the information is sensitive. The government restricts who can see it and where, due to national security concerns). Waltine Nauta, a former Navy veteran who was Trump’s valet in the White House, packed up some of the items in the boxes. From January to March of 2021, those boxes were stored in the White and Gold Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.

In April, some boxes were moved to a bathroom and shower in the “Lake Room” at Mar-a-Lago.

In May, Trump had a storage room cleaned out in order to store the boxes (the same month he had some moved to another residence). On June 24, 2021, boxes in the Lake Room were moved to the storage room on the ground floor. (The hallway leading to that room was accessible through multiple paths, including a doorway that was often kept open.) After the move, more than 80 boxes were stored there, according to the indictment.

During that time, Trump also had some boxes moved to Bedminster Club in New Jersey (an unauthorized location). While at the club in July 2021, Trump met with a writer and interviewer who were helping former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows write his autobiography. Trump discussed a report that outlined a plan to attack Iran. Last week, prosecutors obtained a bombshell recording of Trump discussing the document, which he knew was classified. CNN has since obtained a transcript of the recording, on which Trump discusses a document he said was written by a military official. Trump wanted to dispute media reports that the official was concerned Trump would declare an attack on Iran. “This totally wins my case,” Trump said in 2021. “Except it is like, highly confidential […] Secret. This is secret information.”

“See, as president I could’ve declassified it,” Trump said. “Now, I can’t, you know. But this is still a secret.” (This admission undercuts his later claim that he had declassified everything.)

None of the people Trump discussed this recording with had the necessary clearance to see or discuss it. And neither did the PAC representative Trump met with several weeks later. In August or September 2021, Trump showed the rep (from his political action committee) a classified map of a foreign country, discussing a military operation involving that country. The rep did not have the required security clearance or a “need to know” that information.

Trump keeps saying that he had the right to retain the documents, that he had declassified them, that he could declassify them with his mind. None of that is true. The Presidential Records Act, passed in 1978, says that presidential records are the property of the U.S. Government, not the president. It makes it a crime to conceal or intentionally destroy government property — punishable by up to three years in prison.

And it’s not like he didn’t know what was in these boxes. Per the indictment: “Between November 2021 and January 2022, NAUTA and Trump Employee 2 at TRUMP’s direction brought boxes from the Storage Room to TRUMP’s residence for TRUMP to review.” During that time, it became clear that the data wasn’t being stored securely. On Dec. 7, 2021, Nauta found several boxes had fallen in the Mar-a-Lago storage room, with their contents spilled out onto the floor.

Nauta took a photo and sent it to another employee, saying: “I opened the door and found this…” The employee responded, “Oh, no. Oh no.” (Indeed: one of the documents was marked “SECRET,” meaning that if disclosed it would pose a danger to national security.)

NARA Discovery

The National Records and Archives Administration (NARA) learned the truth about the documents in January 2022. According to the New York Times, “The National Archives discovered in January that at the end of his term, former President Donald J. Trump had taken to his home at the Mar-a-Lago resort 15 boxes from the White House that contained government documents, mementos, gifts and letters. The boxes included material subject to the Presidential Records Act, which requires that all documents and records pertaining to official business be turned over to the archives.”

In January, Nauta and another employee gathered 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago, loaded the boxes into a car, and took them to a commercial truck that would deliver them to NARA. On Feb. 18, in a letter to Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), U.S. Archivist David S. Ferriero revealed: “NARA has identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes.”

As a result, NARA referred the matter to the Department of Justice.

Investigation

On March 30, 2022, the FBI opened a criminal investigation. A federal grand jury got involved a month later. On May 11, 2022, the grand jury issued a subpoena requesting the return of all classified documents.

Meanwhile, the FBI was searching the material. According to a search warrant issued later: “From May 16-18, 2022, FBI agents conducted a preliminary review of the FIFTEEN BOXES provided to NARA and identified documents with classification markings in fourteen of the FIFTEEN BOXES. A preliminary triage of the documents revealed the following approximate numbers: 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET.”

(If disclosure of certain information could “reasonably result” in damage to national security, the information may be marked as “CONFIDENTIAL.” When serious damage to national security is possible, the info is labeled “SECRET.” If info poses an “exceptionally grave” damage to national security, it is marked “TOP SECRET.”) So Trump had material that could gravely damage national security and held on to it even after he was asked to give it up.

In case it’s not clear enough from the details: someone could’ve been killed as a result of these secrets being revealed. “The classified documents TRUMP stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to foreign attack. The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources,” the indictment reads.

Annotated indictment document courtesy of The New York Times via http://www.newyorktimes.com

Meeting

On May 23, Trump met with two attorneys. They told Trump they needed to search for the requested documents and provide a certification saying that they’d complied with the subpoena. The indictment says that “Attorney 1” (aka Evan Corcoran) recorded Trump’s response.

“I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes,” Trump said, per Corcoran. Trump even suggested stonewalling the feds: “Well…what happens if we just don’t respond at all?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” Corcoran made it clear that he would return to Mar-a-Lago and conduct a search on June 2. Trump changed his summer plans so that he’d be there.

Between May 23 and June 2, 2022, Nauta moved 64 boxes out of the storage room. After speaking with Trump on the phone on June 2, Nauta and another employee brought only 30 of those boxes to the storage room. (Federal law bans moving classified documents to unauthorized locations.) That day, Corcoran came to Mar-a-Lago and did a search. He found 38 classified documents, which he put in a Redweld envelope.

That evening, he contacted another attorney (Christina Bobb) and asked her to come to Mar-a-Lago the next morning and act as a custodian of records. Despite having not searched the boxes or the Redweld envelope, she agreed.

Search Day

Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3. In addition to counsel (lawyers for the former president), Bobb was also present. She signed a letter that reads, in part: “I am authorized to certify, on behalf of the Office of Donald J. Trump, the following:

A diligent search was conducted of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Florida;
This search was conducted after receipt of the subpoena, in order to locate any and all documents that are responsive to the subpoena;
Any and all responsive documents accompany this certification.”

That wasn’t true. All the documents weren’t turned over, and, according to MSNBC, the Iran document is STILL missing. Trump’s lawyer signed a document that made a false statement to the authorities. It said that all the White House documents were in the storage room at Mar-a-Lago and “that there were no other records stored in any private office space or other location at the Premises and that all available boxes were searched.” Agents weren’t allowed to open or look inside boxes from that storage room. (Months later, it emerged that Trump’s lawyer Evan Corcoran was waved off when he asked to search other rooms at Mar-a-Lago.)

Shortly after the certification, two of Trump’s lawyers (including Corcoran) handed over the Redweld envelope, which had been secured with duct tape. That same day, “NAUTA and others loaded several of TRUMP’s boxes along with other items on aircraft that flew TRUMP and his family north for the summer,” according to the indictment. (Federal law bars moving classified material to unauthorized locations.)

This is the last of five separate actions the feds say Trump took to conceal the documents and obstruct the investigation:

The Envelope (and Search)

The Redweld envelope contained 38 classified documents, including five marked CONFIDENTIAL, 16 marked SECRET, and 17 marked TOP SECRET, according to the filing. But the government soon discovered evidence that classified documents remained at the premises — and that a search of the Storage Room wouldn’t have produced all of them. “The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.” In response, the federal government sought and obtained a search warrant on Aug. 5. Judge Reinhart found probable cause for all three crimes alleged and authorized the warrant. So the agents went down to Florida, where they performed a search.

When the FBI searched Trump’s home on Aug. 8, they seized 33 items of evidence, mostly boxes. (Three classified documents were found not in boxes, but in office desks!) Of the seized evidence, 13 boxes or containers had classified documents, yielding a total of “over 100 unique documents with classification markings.” Some of the documents had colored cover sheets.

On November 18, Garland announced that he had turned the investigation over to special counsel Jack Smith, who ultimately filed the indictment. Now, after seven months of investigation, Smith has filed federal charges against Trump — further worsening an already bad legal situation for him.

Trump is already under indictment in New York for charges related to hush money that he paid adult actress Stormy Daniels. And last month he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a civil case filed by writer E. Jean Carroll. This dramatic new indictment comes just 10 months after FBI agents searched Trump’s home last summer.

Indictment

The indictment charges Trump with 31 counts of retaining classified documents in violations of the Espionage Act. Trump and Nauta together are charged in counts 32-36, which include conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document, corruptly concealing a document, and conspiring to conceal (and then concealing) classified documents. Trump and Nauta are each individually charged with making false statements to authorities.

Trump relentlessly hammered former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 for having classified information on a private email server while she was secretary. He even said that she should be imprisoned. Yet Trump himself has now been indicted for mishandling classified information — and lying about it. He was arraigned in federal court on Tuesday, June 13.

The post Trump Indicted in Classified Documents Probe appeared first on Forward Times.

The post Trump Indicted in Classified Documents Probe first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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A Nation in Freefall While the Powerful Feast: Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything. It enters the grocery aisle, the overdue bill, the rent notice, and the long nights spent calculating how to get through the next week. The latest numbers show that this season has not passed. It has deepened.

Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, according to ADP. Because the nation has been hemorrhaging jobs since President Trump took office, the administration has halted publishing the traditional monthly report. The ADP report revealed that small businesses suffered the heaviest losses. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers shed 120,000 positions, including 74,000 from companies with 20 to 49 workers. Larger firms added 90,000 jobs, widening the split between those rising and those falling.

Meanwhile, wealth continues to climb for the few who already possess most of it. Federal Reserve data shows the top 1 percent now holds $52 trillion. The top 10 percent added $5 trillion in the second quarter alone. The bottom half gained only 6 percent over the past year, a number so small it fades beside the towering fortunes above it.

“Less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes,” John Campbell said to CBS News, while noting that the complexity of the system leaves many families lost before they even begin. Campbell, a Harvard University economist and coauthor of a book examining the country’s broken personal finance structure, pointed to a system built to confuse and punish those who lack time, training, or access.

“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” Carol Fox told Bloomberg News, while noting that rising borrowing costs, shrinking consumer spending, and trade battles under the current administration have left owners desperate. Fox serves as a court-appointed Subchapter V trustee in Southern Florida and has watched the crisis unfold case by case.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump told those present that affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” He added that Democrats created a “con job” to mislead the public.

However, more than $30 million in taxpayer funds reportedly have supported his golf travel. Reports show Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have also made extensive use of private jets through government and political networks. The administration approved a $40 billion bailout of Argentina. The president’s wealthy donors recently gathered for a dinner celebrating his planned $300 million White House ballroom.

During an appearance on CNBC, Mark Zandi, an economist, warned that the country could face serious economic threats. “We have learned that people make many mistakes,” Campbell added. “And particularly, sadly, less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes.”

Stacy M. Brown

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The Numbers Behind the Myth of the Hundred Million Dollar Contract

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut. He looked into the camera and tried to offer a truth most fans never hear. “You give somebody a five-year $100 million contract, right? What is it really? It is five years for sixty. You are getting taxed. Do the math. That is twelve million a year that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt,” said Beckham. He added that buying a car, buying his mother a house, and covering the costs of life all chip away at what people assume lasts forever.

The reaction was instant. Many heard entitlement. Many heard a millionaire complaining. What they missed was a glimpse into a professional world built on big numbers up front and a quiet erasing of those numbers behind the scenes.

The tax data in Beckham’s world is not speculation. SmartAsset’s research shows that top NFL players often lose close to half their income to federal taxes, state taxes, and local taxes. The analysis explains that athletes in California face a state rate of 13.3 percent and that players are also taxed in every state where they play road games, a structure widely known as the jock tax. For many players, that means filing up to ten separate returns and facing a combined tax burden that reaches or exceeds 50 percent.

A look across the league paints the same picture. The research lists star players in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland, all giving up between 43 and 47 percent of their football income before they ever touch a dollar. Star quarterback Phillip Rivers, at one point, was projected to lose half of his playing income to taxes alone.

A second financial breakdown from MGO CPA shows that the problem does not only affect the highest earners. A $1 million salary falls to about $529,000 after federal taxes, state and city taxes, an agent fee, and a contract deduction. According to that analysis, professional athletes typically take home around half of their contract value, and that is before rent, meals, training, travel, and support obligations are counted.

The structure of professional sports contracts adds another layer. A study of major deals across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL notes that long-term agreements lose value over time because the dollar today has more power than the dollar paid in the future. Even the largest deals shrink once adjusted for time. The study explains that contract size alone does not guarantee financial success and that structure and timing play a crucial role in a player’s long-term outcomes.

Beckham has also faced headlines claiming he is “on the brink of bankruptcy despite earning over one hundred million” in his career. Those reports repeated his statement that “after taxes, it is only sixty million” and captured the disbelief from fans who could not understand how money at that level could ever tighten.

Other reactions lacked nuance. One article wrote that no one could relate to any struggle on eight million dollars a year. Another described his approach as “the definition of a new-money move” and argued that it signaled poor financial choices and inflated spending.

But the underlying truth reaches far beyond Beckham. Professional athletes enter sudden wealth without preparation. They carry the weight of family support. They navigate teams, agents, advisors, and expectations from every direction. Their earning window is brief. Their career can end in a moment. Their income is fragmented, taxed, and carved up before the public ever sees the real number.

The math is unflinching. Twenty million dollars becomes something closer to $8 million after federal taxes, state taxes, jock taxes, agent fees, training costs, and family responsibilities. Over five years, that is about $40 million of real, spendable income. It is transformative money, but not infinite. Not guaranteed. Not protected.

Beckham offered a question at the heart of this entire debate. “Can you make that last forever?”

Stacy M. Brown

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FBI Report Warns of Fear, Paralysis, And Political Turmoil Under Director Kash Patel

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 2, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership. The 115-page document, submitted to Congress this month, is built entirely on verified reporting from inside field offices across the country and paints a picture of an agency gripped by fear, divided by ideology, and drifting without direction.

The report’s authors write that they launched their inquiry after receiving troubling accounts from inside the Bureau only four months into Patel’s tenure. They describe their goal as a pulse check on whether the ninth FBI director was reforming the Bureau or destabilizing it. Their conclusion: the preliminary findings were discouraging.

Reports Describe Widespread Internal Distrust and Open Hostility Toward President Trump

Sources across the country told investigators that a large number of FBI employees openly express hostility toward President Donald Trump. One source reported seeing an “increasing number of FBI Special Agents who dislike the President,” adding that these employees were exhibiting what they called “TDS” and had lost “their ability to think critically about an issue and distinguish fact from fiction.” Another source described employees making off-color comments about the administration during office conversations.

The sentiment reportedly extends beyond domestic lines. Law enforcement and intelligence partners in allied countries have privately expressed fear that the Trump administration could damage long-term international cooperation according to a sub-source who reported those concerns directly to investigators.

Pardon Backlash and Fear of Retaliation

The President’s January 20 pardons of individuals convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack ignited what the report calls demoralization inside the Bureau. One FBI employee said they were “demoralized” that individuals “rightfully convicted” were pardoned and feared that some of those individuals or their supporters might target them or their family for carrying out their duties. Another source described widespread anger that lists of personnel who worked on January 6 investigations had been provided to the Justice Department for review, noting that agents “were just following orders” and now worry those lists could leak publicly.

Morale In Decline

Morale among FBI employees appears to be sinking fast. There were a few scattered positive notes, but the weight of the reporting describes morale as low, bad, or terrible. Agents with more than a decade of service told investigators they feel marginalized or ignored. Some are counting the days until they can retire. One even uses a countdown app on their phone.

Culture Of Fear

Layered over that unhappiness is something far more corrosive. A culture of fear. Sources say Patel, though personable, created mistrust from the start because of harsh remarks he made about the FBI before taking office. Agents took those comments personally. They now work in an atmosphere where employees keep their heads down and speak carefully. Managers wait for directions because they are afraid a wrong move could cost them their jobs. One source said agents dread coming to work because nobody knows who will be reassigned or fired next.

Leadership Concerns

The report also paints a picture of leaders unprepared for the jobs they hold. Multiple sources said Patel is in over his head and lacks the breadth of experience required to understand the Bureau’s complex programs. Some said Deputy Director Dan Bongino should never have been appointed because the role requires deep institutional knowledge of FBI operations. A sub-source recounted Bongino telling employees during a field office visit that “the truth is for chumps.” Employees who heard it were stunned and offended.

Social Media and Communication Breakdowns

Communication inside the Bureau has become another source of frustration. Sources said Patel and Bongino spend too much time posting on social media and not enough time communicating with employees in clear and official ways. Several told investigators they learn more about FBI operations from tweets than from internal channels.

ICE Assignments Raise Alarm

Nothing has sparked more frustration inside the FBI than the orders requiring agents to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reporting shows widespread resentment and fear over these assignments. Agents say they have little training in immigration law and were ordered into operations without proper planning. Some said they were put in tactically unsafe positions. They also warned that being pulled away from counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations threatens national security. One sub-source asked, “If we’re not working CT and CI, then who is?”

DEI Program Removal

Even the future of diversity programs became a point of division. Some agents praised Patel’s removal of DEI initiatives. Others said the old system left them afraid to speak honestly because they worried about being labeled racist. The reporting shows a deep and unresolved conflict over whether DEI strengthened the organization or weakened it.

Notable Incidents

The document also details several incidents that have become part of FBI lore. Patel ordered all employees to remove pronouns and personal messages from their email signatures yet used the number nine in his own. Agents laughed at what they saw as hypocrisy. In another episode, FBI employees who discussed Patel’s request for an FBI-issued firearm were ordered to take polygraph examinations, which one respected source described as punitive. And in Utah, Patel refused to exit a plane without a medium-sized FBI raid jacket. A team scrambled to find one and finally secured a female agent’s jacket. Patel still refused to step out until patches were added. SWAT members removed patches from their own uniforms to satisfy the demand.

A Bureau at a Crossroad

The Alliance warns that the Bureau stands at a difficult crossroads. They write that the FBI faces some of the most daunting challenges in its history. But even in despair, a few voices say something different. One veteran source said “It is early, but most can see the mission is now the priority. Case work and threats are the focus again. Reform is headed in the right direction.”