Possibility Of Donald Trump Being Convicted Of Crime Just Went Way Up, Says Niece: 'A Proverbial Smoking Gun'

Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump recently raised the possibility of her uncle being convicted of a more serious offense than the one he was charged with in New York.

What Happened: “In case you need some good news, there’s a chance Donald Trump could be charged with espionage,” she tweeted on Friday.

Mary Trump was referring to a New York Times piece that reported that special counsel Jack Smith’s team is investigating whether Donald Trump showed off a map containing “sensitive intelligence information” to aides and visitors after he had taken it with him upon leaving the White House.

Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as an independent special counsel to oversee investigations into Donald Trump's role in the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot and the mishandling of government records, including classified documents.

Mary Trump noted that legal expert Dave Aronberg had said in an interview with MSNBC that violators of the Espionage Act, or 18 USC 719 (e) could face up to 19 years in prison.

“Aronberg explains that if Donald was ‘unauthorized to have possession' of the map and showed it to others anyway, he’d be in violation of the statute,” she wrote.

See Also: Trump's Niece Says Republicans Are Using This 'Donald Tactic' To Their Advantage: 'Don't Even Know Where To Focus Half The Time'

Mary Trump also said that Donald Trump was reportedly questioned about the map before a criminal grand jury.

“This adds a new level of seriousness to Donald’s case because it potentially gives prosecutors physical evidence of his crimes: a proverbial smoking gun,” Mary Trump wrote.

“That means, the very real possibility Donald will not just be charged with, but convicted of a crime just went way up,” she tweeted.

Why It’s Important: Donald Trump was arraigned in lower Manhattan, where District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payment of hush money to adult movie star Stormy Daniels.

Legal experts and analysts are divided over the strength of the case and its implications for Donald Trump’s presidential run.

The ex-president also testified this week under oath for several hours in a New York civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who alleges that he and three of his children committed business fraud.

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