Former President Donald Trump is facing three new felony charges from federal prosecutors in connection with his possession of classified documents after he left office. They concern accusations that Trump instructed two Mar-a-Lago employees, including top aide Walt Nauta, to destroy security footage showing boxes of classified documents being moved around the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Another charge arises from allegations that Trump shared classified war plans with people who had no security clearance.

In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, Mary McCord, former acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice and executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University, said, “Certainly each one of these (charges) carries a pretty significant penalty. The mishandling charge is, I believe, a 10-year offense, obstruction is a 20-year offense. Although I don’t think that the most significant factor here is the adding to the potential penalty because I think if we get to the point of a jury trial with a verdict of guilty against Mr. Trump, sentencing will be a whole other complicated issue, to be honest with you.”

McCord said, “I think what’s significant here is the powerful nature of this new evidence as alleged in the superseding indictment.”