Former President Donald Trump is issuing a new defense against the charges he is facing for his handling of classified documents.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump took aim at the special counsel overseeing his case, Jack Smith, as he wrote, “This is the Thug, over turned consistently and unanimously in big cases, that Biden and his CORRUPT Injustice Department stuck on me.”
“He’s a Radical Right Lunatic and Trump Hater, as are all his friends and family, who probably ‘planted’ information in the ‘boxes’ given to them,” he claimed.
Finally, Trump insisted, “They taint everything that they touch, including our Country, which is rapidly going to HELL!”
🚨President Trump lodges the possibility that Biden’s Special Counsel Jack Smith “probably” planted information in the boxes ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RXJFEO9zaO
— Chadwick Paul (@thechadwickpaul) June 13, 2023
Smith hit Trump with 37 charges in the case, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, and one count related to making false statements.
The indictment states, “The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods,” it added.
Smith also alleges Trump showed classified documents to people in two instances.
One incident listed in the indictment allegedly occurred in July 2021 during a meeting with a writer.
According to the filing, Trump sought to refute a claim he approached the Pentagon about attacking a country.
CNN previously reported on the existence of a recording of the meeting where it appears he showed a document to the writer to bolster his position and admitted he did not declassify it.
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) June 9, 2023
“Isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential,” Trump said according to the filing.
The former president added, “As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t.”
Trump is slated to be arraigned in a Miami courthouse at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
He has insisted he is an “innocent man.”
