WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump appeared Tuesday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Miami, pleading not guilty to 37 felony counts related to mishandling of classified documents.
It was only the second time in American history that an ex-president went to court to answer criminal charges. The first was two months ago, when Trump was indicted in New York on felony charges related to hush money paid to a porn star during the 2016 campaign.
As in Manhattan, most of the the Miami spectacle – the fingerprints, the plea, the judge’s admonishments about avoiding contact with witnesses, the defendant’s scowling asides with lawyers – took place beyond the reach of news cameras.