Forget Florida — Trump could finally meet his demise in New Jersey, legal analysts say

📑 Former President Trump is accused of sharing secret defense plans while in NJ

📑 The actions were described in Trump’s federal indictment unsealed in Florida

📑 There is growing buzz that Trump could face separate charges filed in NJ

Former President Donald Trump boarded a plane and retreated to supporters at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster hours after his arrest at a federal courthouse in Florida on Tuesday.

His “summer home” in Somerset County might actually be a critical location in his growing court troubles, according to The Atlantic, which published “Jack Smith’s Backup Option,” name-checking Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith.

It's not every day you see the New Jersey municipality of Bedminster blaring in a banner headline on the Drudge Report. But the conservative aggregator was drawing attention to The Atlantic report in which legal experts Ryan Goodman and Andrew Weissmann said the former president might have committed separate federal crimes while in New Jersey.

That means he could face a federal jury pulled from New Jersey.

📑 Trump is accused of sharing secret defense documents with others while in NJ

In the indictment unsealed last week, federal prosecutors described at least two times in 2021 that Trump showed classified Department of Defense documents to visitors at his Bedminster golf club.

The first time, it was a July 2021 meeting that was recorded on audio, with a writer and publisher and two staff members — none of whom had security clearance to see such documents, the indictment said.

During that recorded visit, Trump said the documents he was showing them were “highly confidential” and “secret,” according to the indictment.

A month or two later, federal prosecutors said Trump showed a “classified map” related to a military operation to a member of his political action committee — while also telling the person that he should not be showing them the map.

Amid those serious accusations, Trump on Tuesday in Bedminster called his 37-count indictment stemming from his handling of classified documents “the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country.”

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

📑 Trump previously said mishandling of federal information deserved prison

Trump delivered remarks on Tuesday in Bedminster, which were fact-checked by Politifact.

“The Presidential Records Act requires that all official documents be returned to the National Archives upon a president’s departure,” the nonpartisan organization said in a follow-up.

“The act does not include a negotiating process between the president and the National Archives over official government records,” it added.

Trump's previous statements have been examined by Snopes, with context to his criticism of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's email server controversy.

In 2018, Trump signed a law that boosted the penalty for “unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material.”

Instead of a misdemeanor, it became a felony charge — punishable by up to five years in prison, as reported by Newsweek.

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