Former US president Donald Trump has remained “defiant” while turning himself in and pleading not guilty to 37 criminal charges in his first appearance at a Miami courthouse.
Mr Trump arrived at the federal courthouse on Wednesday morning (AEST) with former aide and alleged co-conspirator Walt Nauta, who has also been charged.
The indictment of a former president on federal charges is unprecedented in US history. If convicted, Mr Trump faces a maximum 20-year jail sentence.
Mr Trump and Mr Nauta were booked before the alleged felonies were read out by Florida magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman.
As had been expected, Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges.
He is accused of unlawfully keeping national security documents in his Mar-a-Lago home – boxed up in his bathroom, ballroom, office and bedroom – and conspiring to hide this.
Mr Nauta faces six related charges.
The hearing was closed to cameras and live broadcasts.
Just before turning himself in, Mr Trump posted an outburst in capital letters to his Truth Social platform: “ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY”.
“WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE!!!”.
One of his lawyers (who is not representing him in this case), Alina Habba, said outside court that Mr Trump remained “defiant”.
“The decision to pursue charges against President Trump, while turning a blind eye to others, is emblematic of the corruption that we have here,” she said.
“We are at a turning point in our nation’s history (with) the targeting prosecution of a leading political opponent.”
Mr Trump’s plea sets up a legal battle likely to play out over coming months as he campaigns to win back the presidency in a November 2024 election.
Experts say it could be a year or more before a trial goes ahead.
Supporters wearing Make America Great Again hats and carrying US flags chanted “Miami for Trump” and “Latinos for Trump” as the motorcade paused outside the courthouse.
Recent events have not dented Mr Trump’s hopes of returning to the White House.
After his arraignment Mr Trump was due to fly from Miami to his New Jersey golf club, where he was scheduled to speak.
Nor have Mr Trump’s legal woes hurt his standing with Republican voters.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week showed Mr Trump still leading rivals for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election by a wide margin.
In an ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend, 47 per cent of all adults surveyed believed the charges in the documents case were politically motivated, compared with 37 per cent who said they were not.
A ‘strong case’
Mr Trump’s charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison as he would serve any sentences concurrently if convicted.
Legal experts say the evidence amounts to a strong case, and Special Counsel Jack Smith has said Mr Trump, who will turn 77 this week, will have a “speedy” trial.
Experts say the complexities of handling classified evidence and legal manoeuvring by Mr Trump’s lawyers could delay a trial by more than a year.
In the meantime, Mr Trump is free to campaign for the presidency and could take office even if he were to be found guilty.
Mr Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and accuses Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration of targeting him.
He called Mr Smith, who is leading the prosecution, a “Trump hater” on social media on Tuesday (local time).
Mr Smith accuses Mr Trump of risking national secrets by taking thousands of sensitive papers with him when he left the White House in January 2021 and storing them in a haphazard manner at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate and his New Jersey golf club, according to a grand jury indictment released last week.
Photos included in the indictment show boxes of documents stored on a ballroom stage, in a bathroom and strewn across a storage-room floor.
Those records included information about the secretive US nuclear program and potential vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, the indictment said.
The 37-count indictment alleges Mr Trump lied to officials who tried to get them back.
The indictment also alleges Mr Trump conspired with Mr Nauta to keep classified documents and hide them from a federal grand jury.
Mr Nauta has worked for Mr Trump at the White House and at Mar-a-Lago.
Most of Mr Trump’s Republican rivals for the nomination have lined up behind him and accused the FBI of political bias.
Vivek Ramaswamy, one of those candidates, said outside the Miami courthouse that he would pardon Mr Trump if he were elected.
