Timeline: The government's efforts to get sensitive documents back from Trump's Mar-a-Lago
CBS News Washington — Former President Donald Trump has been charged by the Justice Department in connection with its investigation into his handling of sensitive government recovered after he left the White House, marking the first time in U.S. history that a former president faces federal criminal charges.
The indictment, confirmed by U.S. officials and a lawyer for Trump, comes in the wake of a lengthy effort by the National Archives and Records Administration to retrieve materials Trump had at his South Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, after his presidency ended in January 2021.
Wrangling between Trump and the National Archives initially took place behind the scenes with secret subpoenas for the records and security camera footage, but the dispute burst into public view on Aug. 8, 2022, when the FBI conducted a court-authorized search of the property.
Public court filings stemming from the Mar-a-Lago search and a related legal dispute over the Justice Department's access to the 33 boxes of material seized — 13 of which contained just over 100 documents marked classified — revealed Trump was under investigation for the alleged removal or destruction of records, obstruction of justice and potentially violating a provision of the Espionage Act related to gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.
