Donald Trump has been informed that he is the subject of a criminal investigation into possible sensitive file management after leaving the White House.
Federal prosecutors’ decision to inform the former president of a criminal investigation raises the possibility that he could soon faces charges.
If that happened, it would be the second indictment of Mr. Trump, who is campaigning once again to be president.
Since last year, prosecutors have been investigating the transfer of documents to Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida resort.
In August of last year, the beachfront property was searched, and 11,000 documents—including about 100 classified ones—were taken. Some of these had the designation “top secret”.
According to three persons with knowledge of the situation, Mr. Trump was notified he was under investigation on Wednesday.
Mr. Trump has consistently refuted allegations of misconduct and characterized the inquiry as political in nature.
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On Wednesday, when asked by the New York Times if he had been informed that he was the subject of a federal investigation, he responded, “you have to understand” that he was not in contact with the investigating team.
CNN, ABC News, and Politico all reported on Wednesday night that Mr. Trump had been notified by letter that he was the subject of a criminal investigation.
All the outlets said the move signalled charges could happen soon, but that it was possible a person would not go on to be charged.
Trump is leading in opinion polls to be the Republican Party’s 2024 candidate for president; he has also consistently denied wrongdoing and has criticised the justice department’s investigation as “politically motivated” and a “witch-hunt”.
The details of documents that may have been in Trump’s possession remain unclear. Classified material usually contains information that officials feel could damage national security if made public.
It is against US law for federal officials, up to and including a president, to remove or retain classified documents at an unauthorised location.
