Trump to get intelligence briefings despite classified documents criminal trial

U.S. intelligence agencies plan to provide briefings to former President Donald Trump this year if he secures the Republican presidential nomination, even though he faces federal criminal charges that he mishandled classified information after he left office.

The intelligence community is likely to adhere to past practices for nominees and has no plan to cancel the briefings if Trump becomes the GOP nominee, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Scrapping the briefings for Trump could open President Joe Biden up to accusations of politicizing access to intelligence, one of the sources said.

Launched by President Harry Truman in 1952, intelligence briefings for presidential nominees are designed to ensure a smooth transition of power and to prepare a prospective commander in chief for office. The briefings are not required by law.

But Trump’s candidacy poses an unprecedented circumstance for intelligence officials due to his track record. During his time in the White House, Trump was accused of revealing secret information, and he was indicted on federal criminal charges for allegedly retaining a trove of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left office.

Federal prosecutors say investigators found boxes of sensitive documents stored in various parts of Mar-a-Lago, including in a bathroom, a ballroom and his bedroom.

The former president, who has pleaded not guilty, faces multiple charges, including willful retention of national defense information, false statements and representations, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, and corruptly concealing a document.

Trump and his lawyers have rejected the charges, arguing that he had a right to possess the