Former President Donald Trump Hit With Additional Charge of Willful Retention of National Defense Information in Superseding Indictment

Former President Donald Trump was hit with an additional charge of willful retention of national defense information Thursday in a superseding indictment filed in the federal court in Florida. The indictment, part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents after departing the White House, swelled from 38 to 42 counts.

The new charge was added to the 37 counts, including Espionage Act violations, that Trump was already facing. The additional charge was related to the Iran war plan document Trump allegedly flaunted at Bedminster.

In response to the new charges, Trump told Fox News Digital, “If I weren’t leading Biden by a lot in numerous polls, and wasn’t going to be the Republican nominee, it wouldn’t be happening. This is prosecutorial misconduct used at a level never seen before. Hopefully the Republican Party will do something about it.”

The superseding indictment also added a new third defendant, a Mar-a-Lago worker, and co-defendant Walt Nauta. Trump had previously pleaded not guilty to the original charges and ordered the White House to release all documents related to the case.

The news of the additional charges came as reporters were clustered at the DC federal courthouse awaiting a possible Trump indictment in the Jan. 6 case. The indictment is the latest development in the ongoing investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents.