An attorney for former President Trump said Thursday night that the former president is facing charges on seven counts related to his handling of classified documents.
While Trump lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN that the former president’s legal team has not yet seen the actual indictment, he said the summons they received suggested that the counts “basically break out from an Espionage Act charge” and “several obstruction-based type charges and then false statement charges.”
Trusty also said he believed there was a conspiracy charge — a sign others could face charges in the matter.
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Espionage Act
The Espionage Act, passed in 1917 during World War I, sought to crack down on activities considered dangerous or disloyal, including passing defense-related information to the country’s wartime enemies.
The law bars the “gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.” A record does not need to be classified to trigger the statute. A charge under this section carries up to 10 years in prison.
Obstruction
Trusty also cited a violation of Sections 1512 and 1519 of the U.S. Code, which fall under the larger category of obstruction of justice.
Section 1512 involves “tampering with a witness, victim or an informant,” while Section 1519 involves the “destruction, alteration, or falsification of records.”
Conspiracy
While Trusty did provide specifics on the conspiracy charge, several of the known charges include conspiracy provisions.
The witness tampering law includes a conspiracy provision that encompasses any of the actions barred under the statute, which includes several manners of obstructing an investigation.
The Espionage Act also includes a mention of such an offense.
False statements
Trump’s attorney did not refer to specific violations for false statements, which are a crime to provide to a law enforcement officer, but said that such a count was included in the summons.
The language of the statute specifically refers to a person who knowingly “falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact.”
Rebecca Beitsch contributed.