Former Pres. Trump is in legal jeopardy as he faces federal criminal charges for mishandling classified documents.
According to the New York Times, Trump is being indicted on seven counts in the DOJ's classified documents probe.
Trump's lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN Thu. that several counts in the indictment "break out from an Espionage Act charge."
How did we get here? Here's a brief GIF timeline of the DOJ's probe into Trump's mishandling of classified documents.
Jan. 2022: The National Archives recovers 15 boxes of national security documents from Trump after weeks of requests.
Jan. 31: The National Archives reveals that "a number" of the documents recovered from Trump arrived torn up. (USA Today)
Feb. 18: The National Archives notifies the Department of Justice of the classified documents recovered from Trump. (AP)
Aug. 8: FBI agents execute a search warrant on Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence as part of a criminal probe into Trump. (NYT)
Aug. 8: Trump confirms the FBI's search in a statement: "My beautiful home is [...] under siege [by] FBI agents."
Aug. 12: Attorney General Merrick Garland holds a press conference on the FBI's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
Aug. 12: The FBI's search warrant is unsealed, revealing that the agency recovered 11 sets of classified documents. (WaPo)
Recovered docs (NYT): 📄4 sets of "top secret" documents 📄3 sets of "secret" documents 📄3 "confidential" documents
The unsealed warrant also reveals that Trump is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act. (WaPo)
Sept. 2: A federal judge releases a list of 11K+ government documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago. (USA Today)
Sept. 21: Trump claims in an interview on Fox News that he can declassify documents "even by thinking about it."
Nov. 15: Trump announces a third bid for the White House, jumpstarting the 2024 GOP presidential primary.