Former US President Donald Trump leaves his resort in Florida en route to his court appearance in Miami. Photo / AP
Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, told US Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman.
CNN reported Trump had his arms folded and periodically spoke to Blanche while in the courtroom
Trump’s motorcade arrived on Tuesday afternoon (EDT) at the federal courthouse shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the magistrate judge, a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.
Trump, as well as an aide charged as a co-conspirator, have been booked in the Miami federal court. The pair were digitally fingerprinted and had their birthdates and Social Security numbers taken as part of the booking process at the federal courthouse in Miami.
The US Marshals Service said Trump and Walt Nauta were booked shortly after they arrived Tuesday afternoon.
It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House next year. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying he’s being unfairly targeted by political opponents who want to hurt his campaign. After his court appearance. Trump will return to New Jersey, where he’s expected to hold a press event to publicly respond to the charges.
The arraignment is closed to cameras and live broadcasts.
Nauta, a Navy veteran who fetched Trump’s Diet Cokes as his valet at the White House before joining him as a personal aide at Mar-a-Lago, is accused of moving boxes from the White House at Trump’s direction and then lying about it to investigators.
Trump rode to court with his son Eric, who accompanied the motorcade from the former president’s Doral resort to the federal courthouse in Miami.
CNN aired footage of Trump walking to a line of SUVs with his son by his side while someone yelled, “Let’s go Trump!”
The former president stopped and waved at supporters, as well as chatted with staff members. Eric Trump appeared to clap his father on the back just before he climbed in a vehicle.
As he rode to court, Trump posted on his social media site that the case against him was a “witch hunt”.
Via his Truth Social network, he posted: “ON MY WAY TO COURTHOUSE. WITCH HUNT!!! MAGA.”
Later, outside the courthouse, Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said, “Today is not about President Donald J. Trump, who is defiant.
“It is not about the Republican Party, it is not about the 2024 election,” Habba added. “It is about the destruction of longstanding principles that have set this country apart.”
Trump is the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as the city of Miami prepared for possible protests by crowds that officials said could number in the thousands.
Security was tight outside the federal courthouse ahead of Trump’s history-making court appearance but there were no major disruptions as the morning unfolded.
Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, insisting as he has through years of legal woes that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But the gravity of the moment was unmistakable as he answers to 37 felony counts that accuse him of willfully retaining classified records that prosecutors say could have jeopardised national security if exposed, then trying to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.
The case is laden with political implications for Trump, who holds the dominant spot in the early days of the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it also poses profound legal consequences given the prospect of a years-long prison sentence. Even for a defendant whose post-presidential life has been dominated by investigations, the documents probe has stood out for the apparent volume of evidence amassed by prosecutors and the severity of the allegations.
It’s also a watershed moment for a Justice Department that until last week had never before brought charges against a former president. Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last year to a special counsel, Jack Smith, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone”.
The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, is the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race. He’s sought to project confidence in the face of unmistakable legal peril, attacking Smith as “a Trump hater”, pledging to stay in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.
“They’re using this because they can’t win the election fairly and squarely,” Trump said on Monday in an interview with Americano Media.
The court appearance is also unfolding against the backdrop of potential protests. Some high-profile backers have used barbed rhetoric to voice support. Trump himself has encouraged supporters to join a planned protest Tuesday at the Miami courthouse, where he is expected to surrender to authorities.
Trump is not expected to be subjected to a mugshot, according to a person familiar with the situation. Generally, Justice Department agencies, like the FBI and US Marshals Service, take a booking photo as part of the arrest process and the photo is uploaded into a shared law enforcement database.
A small group of pro-Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters were squabbling in front of Miami’s federal courthouse as they awaited the former president’s appearance.
A man with “Trump sucks” spray-painted on his jacket and pants shouted at supporters of the former president as they passed by while a man held a homemade “Free Trump” banner behind others who shouted at him. Dozens of supporters wrapped themselves in Trump flags or campaign merchandise as they milled about near the courthouse.
The crowd included far-right internet personality Anthime Gionet, who served a two-month prison sentence for streaming live video while he stormed the U.S. Capitol with a mob of Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
Gionet, better known as “Baked Alaska”, was livestreaming video of his interactions with people around the courthouse — something the terms of Gionet’s probation don’t appear to prohibit.
Meanwhile, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, wearing a T-shirt with a police logo, toured the nearby media encampment and said he didn’t expect any disturbances.
“So far, so good,” Suarez said. “It’s still early, but the crowd seems to be under control and everyone respectful and peaceful. Let’s hope it remains that way.”
Suarez is considering a presidential run and has suggested he could make his intentions known during a speech Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Some Trump supporters were planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for possible unrest around the courthouse. Mayor Suarez had said the city would be ready, and police chief Manuel A. Morales said downtown could see anywhere from a few thousand up to 50,000 protesters.
Among those who arrived early Tuesday were father and son Florencio and Kevin Rodriguez, who came to the US 15 years ago as asylum seekers fleeing the dictatorship in Cuba.
Wearing a shirt that reads “Jesus is my savior, Trump my president,” the younger Rodriguez, Kevin, said it was possible Trump was guilty of illegally retaining classified documents. But he questioned the fairness of the proceedings in light of other classified information probes concerning Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden.
Clinton was not charged for sending classified information on a private email server after FBI investigators concluded that she had not intended to break the law. The Biden investigation remains open, but no evidence has emerged to suggest he acted willfully — a core claim in the Trump indictment.
“We never abandon our amigos — those who love this country and our liberty,” Rodriguez added, highlighting Trump’s staunch opposition to Cuba’s communist government.
Unlike in the New York case, where photographers produced images of a sombre-faced Trump at the courtroom defence table, the public’s view will be limited. Cameras are generally not permitted in federal courts, and a judge Monday night barred reporters from having phones inside the building.
A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months in the documents case, but the Justice Department filed it in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred. Though Trump is set to appear Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favour last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A federal appeals panel ultimately overturned her ruling.
It’s unclear what defences Trump is likely to cite as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation on the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key witness.
Trump has said he’s looking to add to his legal team though no announcements were made Monday. He was expected to be represented at his arraignment by Todd Blanche, an attorney also defending him in the New York case, and Florida lawyer Chris Kise, who joined Trump’s stable of attorneys last year. Under the rules of the district, defendants have to have a local lawyer for an arraignment to proceed.
The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defence information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.
The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the presidency in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programmes, defence and weapons capabilities of the US and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan”, the indictment says. The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.
Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.
- AP
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