No, Trump was not charged with espionage in classified documents probe | Fact check
The claim: Donald Trump was charged with espionage
A June 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) from conservative columnist Todd Starnes makes a claim about former President Donald Trump's June 8 indictment.
"SEE IT: Trump Indictment Unsealed, Charged with Espionage," reads the post.
The post, along with several in the same vein, generated over 90 likes in less than a week. A June 11 tweet from Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham with a similar claim recieved over 1,000 likes.
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Our rating: False
Legal experts said Trump was not charged with espionage in the classified documents probe. He was charged with the willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act for allegedly possessing documents related to national security. Experts said the Espionage Act encompasses crimes other than espionage itself.
Legal experts say Trump was not charged with espionage in classified documents probe
Trump was indicted June 8 by a federal grand jury and charged him with 37 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified records he kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House in 2021, as USA TODAY previously reported.
Thirty-one of those counts involve the 1917 Espionage Act, which, among other things, makes it a crime to possess, retain or disclose information related to national defense, according to Barbara McQuade, a criminal law expert at the University of Michigan.
But contrary to the post’s claim, Trump was not charged with espionage itself, Bradley Moss, a national security lawyer, told USA TODAY in an email.
Espionage refers to the crime of spying or secretly watching a person for the purpose of gathering information and transferring it to another organization or state, according to the Cornell Legal Information Institute. The Espionage Act encompasses multiple issues involving national defense information independent of actual spying or espionage, Moss said.
Fact check: Posts from conservatives distort past presidents' handling of classified records
McQuade agreed and said the act has been used in the past against spies who steal or sell government secrets, but also against government employees who take material home from work. Trump falls into the latter category, she said.
With respect to the classified documents probe, Trump was charged with the “willful retention of national defense information” under 18 U.S. Code § 793, a part of the Espionage Act, for his “unauthorized possession of, access to and control over documents related to the national defense,” according to the 44-page indictment.
The statute that most clearly applies to espionage is 18 U.S. Code § 794, which involves the gathering or delivering of defense information to aid foreign governments, according to Moss. But there is no allegation in the indictment that Trump transferred any sensitive information to a foreign country, according to Joan Meyer, a partner at the law firm Thompson Hine LLP.
Kevin Bishop, Graham’s spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an email that 31 of the 37 charges reference the Espionage Act. But he didn’t provide evidence that Trump was charged with espionage.
Other officials have violated the Espionage Act before. Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger was threatened with an Espionage Act prosecution for intentionally removing classified documents from the National Archives, and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2005, according to Ric Simmons, a law professor at Ohio State University. Likewise, Gen. David Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2015 when he faced Espionage Act prosecution for giving classified material to another person, Simmons said.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked this claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Bradley Moss, June 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Barbara McQuade, June 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Joan Meyer, June 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Ric Simmons, June 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Neama Rahmani, June 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
USA TODAY, June 9, 'This is secret': Donald Trump indictment details charges against former president
USA TODAY, Aug. 12, 2022, What is the Espionage Act? What to know from its original purpose to who has been charged.
Cornell Legal Information Institute, accessed June 13, espionage
Cornell Legal Information Institute, accessed June 13, 18 U.S. Code § 794 - Gathering or delivering defense information to aid foreign government
Cornell Legal Information Institute, accessed June 13, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information
District Court for the Southern District of Florida, June 8, Indictment
Department of Justice, April 1, 2005, Former National Security Advisor Samuel Berger Pleads Guilty To Knowingly Removing Classified Information From The National Archives
NPR, April 23, 2015, Petraeus Sentenced To 2 Years' Probation, Fine For Sharing Classified Info
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump charged with violating Espionage Act, indictment says | Fact check