What does it mean to be indicted? Donald Trump’s legal troubles, explained

Former President Donald Trump is in legal hot water once again, but just what does it mean that he has been “indicted,” anyway?

First of all, the latest charge Trump is facing is over “his handling of classified documents after he left the White House,” according to BBC.

Interestingly enough, details about the indictment have surfaced from Trump himself on his social media site, Truth Social. Trump wrote:

“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States.” Trump also claimed innocence in the post and said he was told he was required to appear in a courthouse. 

Since not all of the details of the indictment have been made public yet, we will probably get more information about it during Trump’s summons to a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday. What is known is that this is Trump’s second indictment. Back in Aprill, he became the very first former President of the United States to be charged with a crime. Trump plead not guilty to dozens of charges related to “falsifying business records over a hush-money payment to a porn star,” according to the BBC.

Although the Department of Justice has not released any details about the indictment, officially, sources told CBS News that the indictment was related to the improper handling of the classified documents. Multiple other news sources have also reported that the indictment is for multiple charges.

What does it mean to be indicted?

But let’s back up a bit. What is “an indictment?” Well, simply put, it is “a formal accusation against someone who is suspected of committing a serious crime, filed after the conclusion of a grand jury investigation,” according to FindLaw.com.

This could mean Trump is facing a felony charge or other very serious charge. An indictment in itself is not an arrest, however. That part may still come later though.