'I am an innocent man': Trump indicted in classified US documents probe

Donald Trump has said he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the US ex-president's most serious legal threat yet as a firestorm of criminal investigations imperil his bid for a second White House term.

"The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax," Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social on Thursday as he broke what would be bombshell news of a historic moment for the United States: the first time a sitting or former commander-in-chief has ever faced federal charges.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Justice Department regarding Trump's assertion, although some US media outlets including The New York Times cited sources saying that Trump has been indicted.

In his post, Trump, who is running for president again, said he has been summoned to a federal courthouse Tuesday in Miami.

"I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States," he wrote. "I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!"

'Unprecedented abuse of power'

The Justice Department has been investigating whether Trump mishandled classified documents he retained after leaving the White House in 2021.

Investigators seized roughly 13,000 documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, nearly a year ago. One hundred were marked as classified, even though one of Trump's lawyers had previously said all records with classified markings had been returned to the government.

Trump was charged with seven counts, people familiar with the matter told the Times. They include willfully retaining national defence secrets, making false statements and an obstruction of justice conspiracy.

Trump, who turns 77 next week, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

His announcement came a day after US media said federal prosecutors have informed the former president's lawyers that he is the target of the probe into his handling of classified documents.

He was already the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime — in his case over election-eve hush money payments to an adult actress who said she had an affair with him. That indictment, handed down by Manhattan's district attorney, came down in March.

In a statement after his initial online posts, the Trump campaign lashed out at what it called an "unprecedented abuse of power" and called for the indictment to be thrown out.

Trump "has long been the biggest threat and the top political target for Joe Biden and the corrupt Democrat Party," his campaign said in a statement.

"Today's act of open legal 'warfare' by the highly politicised and partisan Department of Injustice, has taken things to a new level, and set a dangerous precedent.

The White House declined to comment and referred questions to the Department of Justice. A White House official said it had no foreknowledge of the indictment and learned of it from news reports.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the chamber's top Republican, said that the indictment of Trump was a "dark day" for the United States and that he stood with the former President.

"House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponisation of power accountable," he wrote on Twitter.

“The Biden Regime, which is realising they can't beat or cheat their way to another victory, has taken the unprecedented step to indict President Trump," said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC backing Trump's bid for a return to the White House.