June 8, 2023
Federal prosecutors charged former President Donald Trump on June 8, 2023, with 31 counts under the Espionage Act for willfully retaining national defense secrets and six additional counts for obstructing the government's retrieval effort.
Trump retained 184 classified documents (700 pages) at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House in January 2021
31 of 37 original charges were under 18 U.S.C. 793(e), the Espionage Act — the law protecting national defense secrets
Documents included plans for a US military attack on Iran, nuclear submarine capabilities, and foreign nuclear program details
25 documents were marked Top Secret; 92 Secret; 67 Confidential
The superseding indictment on July 27, 2023 raised the total to 40 counts and added an allegation Trump ordered deletion of security camera footage
Walt Nauta was charged as co-defendant on 6 counts for helping conceal boxes from investigators
Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed all charges in July 2024, ruling Jack Smith's appointment unconstitutional — a conclusion rejected by most legal scholars
Special Counsel
Defendant
Trump valet and co-defendant
Mar-a-Lago property manager and co-defendant
U.S. District Judge, Southern District of Florida
U.S. Attorney General
research
Read the Espionage Act and understand what it actually requires
Reading the actual statute — not a news summary — lets citizens evaluate legal arguments on the merits rather than taking sides based on political loyalty.
The Espionage Act (18 U.S.C. 793) was enacted in 1917 and applies to anyone — including former presidents — who willfully retains national defense information. Read the statute directly at uscode.house.gov. The Presidential Records Act, which Trump's legal team cited as a defense, governs ownership of records but does not override the Espionage Act's prohibition on retaining national defense materials. Reading both statutes side by side shows exactly why prosecutors chose these charges.
civic action
Contact your representatives about codifying the DOJ no-prosecution policy into statute
A policy memo and a statute have very different legal weight. Pushing Congress to clarify this question in law forces an on-the-record vote rather than leaving it to executive branch discretion.
The DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president is not a statute — it is an executive branch memo that any future Attorney General could reverse. Citizens can contact their representatives through house.gov to demand hearings on whether that protection should be codified or limited. Ask specifically: Should a sitting president be immune from criminal prosecution, or should that question be decided by a court rather than an internal executive branch memo? Request a written response.
research
Look up Judge Aileen Cannon's confirmation record through the Federal Judicial Center
Understanding who appointed a judge, when, and under what circumstances is not conspiracy thinking — it is the kind of institutional literacy that courts, lawyers, and journalists use routinely.
Judicial appointments shape outcomes in criminal cases years after they occur. Look up the confirmation timeline and vote for any judge assigned to a high-profile case through the Federal Judicial Center at fjc.gov. The FJC maintains a biographical database of every federal judge, including their appointing president, confirmation date, and Senate vote. For Judge Cannon, note the timing: she was confirmed in November 2020 during a lame-duck Senate session. This context helps citizens evaluate potential structural conflicts of interest without relying on political rhetoric.