In a surprising turn of events, two lawyers defending Donald Trump have resigned from the case just one day after the former US president was indicted on federal charges, including illegally
retaining classified documents and obstruction. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Trump's former military valet, Walt Nauta, has been charged alongside him. Nauta had been working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after serving in the Trump White House.
The lawyers, John Rowley and Jim Trusty, issued a statement saying, "This morning we tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump. It has been an honor to have spent the last year defending him, and we know he will be vindicated." Trump later announced on social media that he would be represented by white-collar defense lawyer Todd Blanche.
This indictment of a former US president on federal charges is unprecedented in American history and comes at a time when Trump is considered the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in the upcoming election. The charges against Trump are related to the handling of sensitive government materials he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021.
Despite the legal proceedings, Trump is still eligible to campaign and potentially take office if he were to win the presidential election in November 2024. Legal experts suggest that even if he were convicted and sent to prison, there would be no basis to block his swearing-in.
Approximately 13,000 documents were seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate nearly a year ago, with 100 of them marked as classified. The case alleges that Trump unlawfully retained these classified documents. While Trump claimed to have declassified them during his presidency, his attorneys have not made that argument in court.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon has been assigned to oversee the case. Cannon, appointed by Trump in 2019, has previously made rulings favoring him during the documents investigation, although those rulings were later overturned on appeal. The charges against Trump include conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and illegally retaining classified documents under the Espionage Act.
This is Trump's second criminal case, with another trial scheduled in New York next March in a state case related to a hush-money payment to a porn star. If he were to win the presidency again, Trump could potentially affect the federal case but not the state case in New York.
Despite his legal challenges, Trump continues to enjoy popularity among Republican voters, and his Republican rivals have criticized the indictment as politically motivated. Special Counsel Jack Smith is leading the investigation, which includes a separate criminal probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results.
President Joe Biden's administration confirmed that he was not aware of the indictment in advance. Trump is also facing a separate criminal probe in Georgia related to his election loss in that state. Smith convened grand juries in both Washington and Miami but opted for the case to proceed in Florida to avoid potential legal challenges over the proper venue.
The Republican presidential nominating contest is set to begin early next year, and the party will select its nominee for the November 2024 election in July of that year. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.