Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois called on police to probe a tweet by Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins that appeared to contain coded messages in response to Trump's indictment.

Quigley tweeted: "Inciting violence is a crime. Law enforcement in his district and Capitol Police should be made aware of these calls for civil war. "

John Bolton, who was Trump's national security adviser and is now considering a White House bid, tweeted today that his former boss "should immediately withdraw as a candidate for president."

Bolton, a vocal Trump critic, also called on the Republican Party to "adopt a rule that no one under Federal or state criminal indictment is eligible to be nominated" for president.

On May 23 last year, Trump met with two of his attorneys to discuss the Justice Department's subpoena from earlier that month demanding he turn over all classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to the indictment.

During that meeting, Trump allegedly asked his lawyer if they could just tell the Justice Department that he didn't possess any classified documents.

"I don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t, I don’t want you looking through my boxes," one of the lawyers recalled Trump saying. "Well what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?"

"Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?" Trump added, according to the lawyer.

"Well look isn’t it better if there are no documents?"

Minutes before Smith spoke at the Justice Department about the charges against the former president, Trump attacked him in a post on his social media site, alleging involvement in the IRS scandal over its targeting conservative nonprofit groups seeking tax exempt status.

"He went after Evangelicals and Great Americans of Faith. The United States had to apologize, and pay major damages for what this deranged lunatic did," Trump wrote.

Trump was apparently referring to a meeting Justice Department officials had with then-IRS official Lois Lerner in 2010 when Smith was the new chief of the DOJ's Public Integrity Section. Smith had asked for the meeting to assess the “evolving legal landscape” of campaign finance law following the Supreme Court’s Citizen's United decision, according to a letter that then-House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent to then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2014. Republicans at the time were investigating the IRS scandal.

Smith later testified that his office "had a dialogue" with the FBI about the but "never opened any investigations."

Although the indictment described two incidents of Trump showing classified information to people not cleared to receive it, it does not charge him with the crime of dissemination of national defense information under the Espionage Act.

Here is a transcript of Smith's two-minute speech:

"Good afternoon. Today, an indictment was unsealed, charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.

"The men and women of the United States Intelligence Community and our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect National Defense Information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced.

"Violations of those laws put our country at risk. Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice, and our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world.

"We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone. Applying those laws, collecting facts, that’s what determines the outcome of an investigation. Nothing more and nothing less. The prosecutors in my office are among the most talented and experienced in the Department of Justice. They have investigated this case, hewing to the highest ethical standards, and they will continue to do so is this case proceeds.

"It’s very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial on this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused. We very much look forward to presenting our case to a jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida.

"In conclusion, I would like to thank the dedicated public servants of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with whom my office is conducting this investigation and who work tirelessly every day, upholding the rule of law in our country. I’m deeply proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Thank you very much."

Smith said in his remarks today that the special counsel's office "will seek a speedy trial...consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused."

"It's very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," he said.

"We very much look forward to presenting our case to a jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida," Smith added in brief remarks.

Smith continued his remarks at the Justice Department saying that the U.S. has "one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone."

"Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice, and our nation's commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world," he said.