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Trump indicted in classified document mishandling case

Former president to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday

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Former President Donald Trump (Photo by shganti1777 via Bigstock)

A federal grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump on seven criminal counts in connection with his mishandling of more than 100 classified documents.

In a series of posts to his Truth Social account Thursday, Trump said that he has been indicted related to his mishandling of the classified documents taken to his estate at Mar-a-Lago after his term of office ended in January 2021.

The unprecedented decision comes after a more than yearlong investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump knowingly retained classified and top secret government records when he left office and then disregarded a subpoena to return all classified documents in his possession and whether he and his staff obstructed Federal Bureau of Investigation efforts to ensure all documents had been returned.

A person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly said Trump’s lawyers were contacted by prosecutors shortly before he announced on his Truth Social platform that he had been indicted, the Associated Press reported.

In the first of a series of posts Trump wrote:

“Page 1: The corrupt Biden administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is ‘secured’ by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time.”

“Page 2: I have been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former president of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting president in the history of our country, and is currently leading, by far, all candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 presidential election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!”

“Page 3: This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a country in serious and rapid decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!”

The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for a comment.

The AP also noted it remains unclear what the immediate and long-term political consequences will be for Trump. His first indictment spurred millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and didn’t damage Trump in the polls.

No matter what, the indictment — and the legal fight that follows — will throw Trump back into the spotlight, sucking attention away from the other candidates who are trying to build momentum in the 2024 presidential race, the AP pointed out.

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Federal Government

So far, virtually no acknowledgement of Pride month by federal gov’t

Trump-Vance administration proclaimed ‘no more drag shows’ at Kennedy Center

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President Donald Trump (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Just a few days from the start of June, there has been virtually no acknowledgment of Pride month by federal government agencies this year, a striking departure from recent policy and practice under the Biden-Harris administration and even under President Donald Trump’s first term.

Some limited and more localized observances have been preserved or renewed in 2025, for example by the U.S. courts’ webpage celebrating history-making LGBTQ jurists like Judges Deborah A. Batts and J. Paul Oetken of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which notes on its website plans to actively participate in WorldPride 2025.

The paltriness of Pride this year comes pursuant to several policy changes under Trump 2.0 such as executive orders narrowing the definition of gender to exclude trans and nonbinary people and banning activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which have led to agency-wide changes including the removal of LGBTQ focused website content and dissolution of “affinity groups.”

Many of these actions came to light in the first few months of Trump’s second term. For example, in January the Associated Press reported a memo from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency indicating that observances related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance, and other cultural or historical annual events would be paused.

While it remains to be seen whether and to what extent the White House, federal government, and Congress will acknowledge Pride month in 2025, in 2024:

  • • At the end of May, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation declaring June LGBTQ Pride Month, as he had done for the previous three years of his administration
  • • The U.S. Senate, then under Democratic control, introduced a resolution recognizing June 2024 as LGBTQ Pride Month
  • • Federal agencies across the whole of government participated in Pride activities, and at a high level — for instance, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted a Pride month convening focused on U.S. foreign policy, national security, inclusive development, and human rights
  • • Actions in June, which in many cases were coordinated via LGBTQ employee resource groups or affinity groups, included celebrations of LGBTQ individuals — for example, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration toasted those who made significant contributions to economic growth, while the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hosted a “Proud Innovation 2024” event, highlighting the accomplishments of LGBTQ innovators, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who utilize intellectual property to grow their businesses and mentor others in their communities.
  • Agencies also provided support indirectly — for example, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sponsored attorneys who wished to represent the FTC at LGBTQ Pride events organized by various bar associations

The Washington Post pointed to some of the challenges facing organizers of WorldPride as they plan festivities in D.C. throughout early June: “This year, the LGBTQ+ celebration is being held in the backyard of a government that has targeted transgender rights and made major cuts to HIV prevention programs. At the Kennedy Center, President Donald Trump has promised “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”

On June 14, Trump is set to preside over a military parade in Washington commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, his 79th birthday, and Flag Day, in a celebration that will feature 6,600 soldiers from at least 11 corps and divisions nationwide and 150 military vehicles, including 28 M1 Abrams tanks.

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Federal Government

HRC memo details threats to LGBTQ community in Trump budget

‘It’s a direct attack on LGBTQ+ lives’

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President Donald Trump (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A memo issued Monday by the Human Rights Campaign details threats to LGBTQ people from the “skinny” budget proposal issued by President Donald Trump on May 2.

HRC estimates the total cost of “funding cuts, program eliminations, and policy changes” impacting the community will exceed approximately $2.6 billion.

Matthew Rose, the organization’s senior public policy advocate, said in a statement that “This budget is more than cuts on a page—it’s a direct attack on LGBTQ+ lives.”

“Trump is taking away life-saving healthcare, support for LGBTQ-owned businesses, protections against hate crimes, and even housing help for people living with HIV,” he said. “Stripping away more than $2 billion in support sends one clear message: we don’t matter. But we’ve fought back before, and we’ll do it again—we’re not going anywhere.”

Proposed rollbacks or changes at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will target the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, other programs related to STI prevention, viral hepatitis, and HIV, initiatives housed under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and research by the National Institutes of Health and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Other agencies whose work on behalf of LGBTQ populations would be jeopardized or eliminated under Trump’s budget include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Department of Education.

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Federal Government

Trump admin cancels more than $800 million in LGBTQ health grants

As of early May, half of scrapped NIH grants were LGBTQ focused

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President Donald Trump (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Trump-Vance administration has cancelled more than $800 million in research into the health of sexual and gender minority groups, according to a report Sunday in The New York Times.

The paper found more than half of the grants through the National Institutes of Health that were scrapped through early May involved the study of cancers and viruses that tend to affect LGBTQ people.

The move goes further than efforts to claw back diversity related programs and gender affirming care for transgender and gender diverse youth, implicating swaths of research by institutions like Johns Hopkins and Columbia along with public universities.

The Times notes that a $41 million cut impacting Florida State University will stall “a major effort to prevent HIV in adolescents and young adults, who experience a fifth of new infections in the United States each year.”

A surge of federal funding for LGBTQ health research began under the Obama-Biden administration and continued since. Under his first term, Trump dedicated substantial resources toward his Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States initiative.

Cuts administered under the health secretary appointed in his second term, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have put the future of that program in question.

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