Former President Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges tied to his handling of classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate.
Over 300 classified documents were recovered, mostly in 2022. Trump on Truth Social on Thursday said he was summoned to appear Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami. His attorney Jim Trusty later confirmed on CNN the former president faces 7 counts, including an Espionage Act charge, and charges related to obstruction and false statements.
But classified documents were also found at former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home, and the documents were also discovered at President Joe Biden’s former office in Washington, D.C. and his home in Delaware.
Will the current president and former vice president also be indicted? Here’s what you need to know.
Timeline:The journey of Trump’s classified documents
Mike Pence
The Justice Department informed Mike Pence earlier this month that it will not pursue criminal charges over classified documents found at his home.
In January, Pence’s attorney turned over about a dozen classified documents to the FBI. Federal officials later searched the home and removed another classified document, as well as six pages not marked as classified.
Pence agreed to the search, and his attorneys cooperated with federal officials without a warrant being issued.
Pence during a CNN town hall earlier this week said “I had no business having classified documents in my residence, and I took full responsibility for it.”
Officials did not immediately confirm why they declined to pursue criminal charges against Pence. Some differences between Pence and Trump’s cases is the number of documents recovered from Trump’s estate, and that some documents from Trump were seized under subpoena, among other factors.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, last month told USA TODAY in a statement, “In the course of negotiations over the return of documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, ‘anything you need from us, just let us know.’”
Cheung accused the Biden administration of weaponizing the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Here’s what to know:What does Trump’s indictment mean? Can he still run for president?
Joe Biden
Justice Department officials have not confirmed whether they will indict Biden. Special counsel Robert Hur is leading an inquiry into the classified documents found at Biden’s home and former office.
Biden’s personal lawyers were clearing out a former office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in November 2022 when the attorneys found a “small number” of classified documents, about 10. Biden had used the office from 2017 to 2020.
Additional documents were discovered at Biden’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware, in December and January.
After the classified materials were discovered at Biden’s former offices, Biden’s attorneys immediately contacted the White House counsel’s office, according to Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has said a president is immune from prosecution while he is in office. However, Hur’s investigation into Biden continues.
