Why has Trump been arrested and what charges does he face?

Former president Donald Trump has been arrested and is facing criminal charges.

He is potentially in trouble over national security documents and whether he lied or not to officials working with these documents.

Trump has said he is not guilty but that is not for him to decide.

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What is going on?

Here is everything you need to know:

What happened?

In January 2022, Trump agreed to return 15 boxes of records to the US National Archives and Records Administration, and officials discovered in them more than 700 pages of records marked as classified.

The Justice Department issued a grand jury subpoena in May 2022 asking Trump to return any other classified records. Trump’s attorneys later turned over 38 pages marked and said that was the lot. But that turned out to be false...

Indeed, in August, the FBI conducted a search of Trump’s Palm Beach home and seized approximately 13,000 more records, about 100 of which were marked as classified.

He was then charged on 37 criminal counts relating to keeping classified documents at his Florida home – including in his ballroom and shower, and involving nuclear weapons and foreign adversaries.

The charges include violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements to investigators.

It is not really about taking the documents that is the issue, it is more about not giving them back when asked.

What could the consequences be?

Bluntly, Trump could go to jail. Most of the charges carry prison terms as long as 10 years if convicted, but the obstruction charges have 20-year maximums. Because of all the charges against him, he could spend a total of 400 years in prison.

What has Trump said?

Trump has called the whole thing a "witch hunt".

He also went on a ranty speech claiming a number of bizarre things including that the images with his arrest were "staged".

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