Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal criminal charges that he unlawfully kept national-security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them. He later dismissed his indictment for mishandling government secrets as a "heinous abuse of power" as he addressed supporters in New Jersey.
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Trump faces 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, including 31 counts under an Espionage Act statute pertaining to the willful retention of national defence information. The charges also include counts of obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes.
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Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country”, along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some that detail the military capabilities of the US and other countries, according to the indictment.
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The 49-page indictment alleges that Trump showed some of the documents to people who did not have security clearances to review them. He later tried to conceal documents from his own lawyers as they sought to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.
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The top charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison
