Here is a timeline of events that led to charges against former U.S. President Donald Trump:
Jan. 20, 2021: Trump leaves the White House as Joe Biden becomes president.
May 6, 2021: The National Archives discovers documents missing from the items received from the Trump administration after he left office. The Archives request in writing that Trump return items that “we cannot account for.”
January 2022: Trump returns 15 boxes of records that had been stored at Mar-a-Lago. Fourteen of the boxes contained classified material. Classification markings were found on 67 documents with 25 documents marked “top secret.”
Jan. 31, 2022: The National Archives releases a statement that says some of the documents received from the Trump administration were torn up by the former president.
Feb. 18, 2022: The Department of Justice is contacted by the National Archives about the classified material in the 15 boxes.
May 2022: Trump and his aides hold a “dress rehearsal” for moving documents, The Washington Post reported.
June 2, 2022: Trump’s White House valet, Walt Nauta, moves boxes into a storage room, according to The New York Times.
June 3, 2022: A Trump attorney sends an envelope containing 38 documents − 17 marked top secret, 16 marked secret and five marked confidential – to the Justice Department.
Aug. 8, 2022: The DOJ conducts a surprise search of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home. FBI agents find more than 100 classified documents, some marked “Top Secret.”
Aug. 11, 2002: Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers a statement about the search and reveals he personally approved the search warrant for Trump’s home in Florida.
Aug. 26, 2022: DOJ releases the heavily redacted affidavit behind the warrant for the search of Trump’s property.
September 2022: The FBI finds more than 11,000 government documents during searches at Mar-A-Lago.
Nov. 16, 2022: Trump announces he will run for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.
Nov. 20, 2022: Garland appoints U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate criminal matters relating to Trump.
Dec. 7, 2022: At least two more classified records are found during a further search of Trump’s properties.
December 2022: Trump lawyer Tim Parlatore testifies before a federal grand jury to describe efforts the ex-president’s lawyers used to search Trump properties for any remaining government documents.
June 8, 2023: Trump writes on social media that his attorneys have been told that he has been indicted. He says he will appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on June 13.
