At least one charge against Trump is conspiracy, source says
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
At least one of the charges against former President Donald Trump will be a conspiracy charge, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
The Trump team does not expect charges to be unsealed tonight, another source said.
The former president has been charged with seven counts, a source told CNN.
White House learned of the Trump indictment from news reports, official says
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
A Biden administration official says the White House learned of former President Donald Trump’s reported indictment from news coverage.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams earlier Thursday declined to comment on the news, referring questions to the Justice Department.
The White House has repeatedly declined to weigh in on ongoing investigations and legal actions, especially those coming out of the Department of Justice, the independence of which President Joe Biden has repeatedly emphasized.
White House declines to comment on Trump indictment reports
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
The White House is declining to comment on reports that former President Donald Trump has been indicted.
White House spokesman Ian Sams declined to comment, referring questions to the Justice Department — which he noted: “conducts its criminal investigations independently.”
The White House has repeatedly declined to weigh in on ongoing investigations and legal actions, especially those coming out of the Department of Justice, whose independence President Joe Biden has upheld.
Biden upheld that very notion earlier on Thursday when he was asked what he would tell Americans to convince them that they should trust the independence and fairness of the Justice Department.
“Because you’ll notice, I have never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do on whether to bring any charges or not bring any charges. I’m honest,” Biden said.
Trump says he's been summoned to appear in court Tuesday in Miami and maintains he's innocent
From CNN's Evan Perez
Former President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he has been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. local time.
In a statement echoing his Truth Social posts, Trump called it a "dark day" for the country following his indictment in the classified documents investigation.
“I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump said in the statement Thursday.
Biden on why Americans should trust the Mar-a-Lago probe: "I'm honest"
From CNN's Allie Malloy
President Joe Biden said Americans should trust the Justice Department’s investigation into former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents.
"Because you’ll notice, I have never once – not one single time – suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do on whether to bring any charges or not bring any charges," the president told reporters Thursday. "I’m honest.”
Mar-a-Lago pool flood raised suspicions among prosecutors in Trump classified documents case
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz, Jeremy Herb and Kaitlan Collins
An employee at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence drained the resort’s swimming pool last October and ended up flooding a room where computer servers containing surveillance video logs were kept, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
While it’s unclear if the room was intentionally flooded or if it happened by mistake, the incident occurred amid a series of events that federal prosecutors found suspicious.
At least one witness has been asked by prosecutors about the flooded server room as part of the federal investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents, according to one of the sources.
The incident came roughly two months after the FBI retrieved hundreds of classified documents from the Florida residence and as prosecutors obtained surveillance footage to track how White House records were moved around the resort. Prosecutors have been examining any effort to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation after Trump received a subpoena in May 2022 for classified documents.
Prosecutors have heard testimony that the IT equipment in the room was not damaged in the flood, according to one source.
Yet the flooded room as well as conversations and actions by Trump’s employees while the criminal investigation bore down on the club has caught the attention of prosecutors. The circumstances may factor into a possible obstruction conspiracy case, multiple sources tell CNN, as investigators try to determine whether the events of last year around Mar-a-Lago indicate that Trump or a small group of people working for him, took steps to try to interfere with the Justice Department’s evidence-gathering.
Read more about this here.
Justice Department is moving law enforcement resources to Miami for expected Trump appearance, source says
From CNN's Evan Perez
The Justice Department is moving additional resources to Miami ahead of an expected court appearance next week by former President Donald Trump, a law enforcement source tells CNN.
Former White House official told federal prosecutors Trump knew of proper declassification process
From CNN's Zachary Cohen and Paula Reid
A key former White House official was interviewed earlier this year by special counsel prosecutors investigating the handling of classified materials by both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, CNN learned.
The former career official, who was in charge of advising the Trump and Obama administrations on the declassification process, is the only known witness to be interviewed by both teams of prosecutors investigating Trump and Biden.
During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes.
While prosecutors in the Trump case aggressively focused on any first-hand interactions with the former president, including conversations about how to properly declassify documents, prosecutors in the Biden case were more concerned with the mechanics of packing and moving boxes into Biden’s home in Delaware as his time as vice president came to an end.
“You wouldn’t expect it to match the intensity, and it didn’t,” the former official said comparing the interview with Biden investigators to discussions with prosecutors in the Trump probe.
Speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, the former official said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office.
The interview with the former official, which has not been previously reported, was an indication that prosecutors were seeking evidence suggesting Trump understood the process for declassifying documents. That could undercut Trump’s claims that he automatically declassified everything he took with him to Mar-a-Lago.
Trump has been indicted in Justice Department probe, source says
From CNN's Paula Reid and Kristen Holmes
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the Justice Department investigation into the misuse of classified documents, a source familiar with the matter said.
Trump has been charged with seven counts, according to a source.
This marks the first time a former president has faced federal charges, and it is the second time Trump has been charged criminally this year
Trump also posted on Truth Social that he has been indicted.