Federal prosecution of Donald Trump (classified documents case)

United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira was a federal criminal case against Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States; Walt Nauta, his personal aide and valet; and Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira. The grand jury indictment brought 40 felony counts against Trump related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his first presidency, to which he pleaded not guilty. The case marked the first federal indictment of a former U.S. president.

On June 8, 2023, the original indictment with 37 felony counts against Trump was filed in the federal district court in Miami by the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith. On July 27, a superseding indictment charged an additional three felonies against Trump. Trump was charged separately for each of 32 documents under the Espionage Act. The other eight charges against him included making false statements and engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. The most serious charges against Trump and Nauta carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. There were no mandatory minimum penalties.

Trump was arraigned on June 13, 2023, Nauta was arraigned on July 12, and both were arraigned on additional charges on August 10. De Oliveira was arraigned on August 15 on four criminal counts related to an alleged attempt to delete surveillance footage. All pleaded not guilty to all charges. Though Judge Aileen Cannon initially set trial for May 20, 2024, she postponed it and then dismissed the case on July 15, ruling that the appointment of Smith had been unconstitutional.

Though the special counsel appealed the dismissal, it later chose to wind down the case following Trump's election in November 2024, in part due to its long-standing department policy not to prosecute a sitting president. It abandoned its appeal regarding Trump (which the court dismissed on November 25) and regarding Nauta and de Oliveira (dismissed on January 29, 2025).

After Trump took office for the second time, the Department of Justice returned to him the boxes that the FBI had seized in August 2022. On February 28, 2025, Trump brought the boxes to Mar-a-Lago.