Thursday, the Department of Justice charged former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents and other offenses.
Tuesday, according to ABC News, the 45th president is required to appear in federal court in Miami.
“There appears to be at least seven counts here. This ranges from everything from the willful retention of national defense information to conspiracy to a scheme to conceal to false statements and representations,” ABC’s Katherine Faulders reported.
Trump responded on Truth Social, “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware.”
“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” he added. “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!”
Almost 10 months have passed since FBI agents invaded Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and seized crates of documents.
The Associated Press reported that approximately 100 of the 11,000 documents removed from the property contained classified insignia.
Trump stated at the time that the operation was completely superfluous because he was willing to turn over any documents requested by the National Archives and had the authority to unilaterally declassify any document in his possession as president.
The Hill reports that for months, special counsel Jack Smith summoned witnesses before a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., but in recent weeks, a smattering of witnesses were called before a federal grand jury convened in Florida.
ABC News reported that Trump recently received a target letter from Smith’s office informing him that he is the subject of an investigation.
“The point of a target letter is to put the subject on notice that they are facing the prospect of indictment,” the news outlet said.
Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general, explained how he believes the DOJ is attempting to differentiate the classified document cases involving Trump and Biden.
“I think [Attorney General] Merrick Garland planned to indict President Trump over classified documents. I think he was giddy with excitement over indicting President Trump,” Cruz told Fox Business before news of the indictment broke on Thursday.
“And then, miracle upon miracles, it became public that Joe Biden had classified documents stuck just about everywhere, including literally in his garage next to his Corvette. And that suddenly put Merrick Garland in a difficult position legally, but also politically,” Cruz continued.
It would be too much of a double standard to indict Trump but not Biden on document handling charges alone, he predicted, so the DOJ would concentrate on related charges such as obstruction.