WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges Tuesday in connection with his handling of classified documents and alleged attempts to prevent the government from recovering them, according to news reports.
Wearing a navy suit, Trump was brought in about 15 minutes before the hearing began and sat slumped over in his chair, hands clasped in his lap, as he waited for the judge to arrive, ABC News reported. He looked down at the floor for most of the hearing and his lawyer waived a reading of the 49-page indictment.
Special counsel Jack Smith sat in the front row, CBS News reported.
“We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche told the judge.
According to news reports, Trump was released on his own recognizance, wasn’t asked to surrender his passport and is still allowed to travel internationally. He was told by the judge that he is not permitted to have contact with witnesses in the case, except through counsel. Blanche asked the judge to reconsider, but the judge held firm.
Trump is expected to return to his club in Bedminster, N.J., Tuesday night for a private fundraiser where he will deliver live remarks. It was not immediately clear whether the date of the next hearing has been set.
Following an investigation by special counsel Jack Smith, the Justice Department on Friday unsealed the indictment of the former president, charging that he improperly took and obstructed the government’s efforts to retrieve hundreds of secret documents — some of them related to U.S. nuclear weapons operations and national defense vulnerabilities — and kept them in unsecured areas of his Florida estate, including a bathroom, ballroom and storage room. The Mar-a-Lago property is a private club that hosts thousands of people each year.
According to the indictment, top-secret and other classified records the FBI recovered after a subpoena and a search of the property included details on U.S. and foreign nations’ nuclear capabilities, as well as information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the U.S. and foreign countries, potential vulnerabilities of the U.S. and its allies to military attack, and plans for possible retaliation in response to an attack.
Trump is charged with willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal and making false statements and representations.
In a Truth Social post sent hours before his appearance, Trump called Smith a “thug” and accused him, his friends and family of planting evidence in the case. Trump also questioned why Smith has not reviewed allegations against President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which Smith doesn’t have authority to review.
Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta faces charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal and making false statements and representations. His arraignment was delayed for several weeks after he was unable to secure local counsel.
The case has been assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who was criticized for ruling in his favor during a dispute last year over a special master assigned to review the seized classified documents. Her rulings, which delayed the investigation for several weeks, were overturned by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The arraignment was handled by a magistrate judge, which is common. Blanche and attorney Chris Kise represented Trump during the arraignment.
He was placed under arrest after surrendering to federal authorities ahead of the arraignment. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service told the Associated Press that the agency has enough photos of Trump and the agency did not take a mugshot. Trump’s digital fingerprints were taken and his birth date and Social Security number recorded, the spokesman said.
This is the second time in about two months that he has been in court to enter a not guilty plea. Trump was indicted in New York City in March on charges related to an alleged hush-money payment made to a porn actor in the final days of the 2016 campaign.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly called the charges a witch hunt intended to keep him from winning back the presidency in 2024. On Monday, Trump said in a social media post that if elected he will appoint a “special ‘prosecutor’ to go after” Biden, his family and others. A president does not have the power to appoint a special counsel; that authority lies with the U.S. attorney general.
Outside the courthouse, supporters of the former president chanted, “free Donald Trump!” and “USA!” while waving “Make America Great Again” flags. Opponents held up signs that read, “Trump you are not above the law” and “31 counts of espionage lock him up!”
The few hundred protesters and counter protesters were outnumbered by reporters outside the building.
Police temporarily pushed Trump supporters and journalists out of the plaza of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Federal Courthouse on Tuesday morning in response to reports of an unattended item..
“The people in charge of this country do not love America. They hate Donald Trump,” Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney and spokesperson, said outside the courthouse before the arraignment.
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said in a news conference that his officers were prepared for a crowd of up to 50,000 people Tuesday. Security guards and federal officers were stationed outside the courthouse on Monday.
Several of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., planned a public event before the former president’s court appearance to discuss the indictment and the ongoing prosecutions of people who entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced on the House floor Monday that she plans to introduce an appropriations rider to defund the special counsel’s investigation. Such a measure is unlikely to be approved by the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.
The Southern District of Florida does not normally allow reporters to take photos, video or audio recordings of court proceedings. Late Monday, a federal magistrate judge rejected a request by coalition of media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, to allow photography and video recording in the courtroom and surrounding hallways on Tuesday, saying that “allowing photographs would undermine the massive security arrangements put in place.”
The magistrate judge also denied a request to immediately release an audio recording of all proceedings in the case. The judge stated that a transcript is expected to be made available Tuesday.
Chief U.S. judge for Southern District of Florida Cecilia Altonaga also ruled late Monday that reporters cannot take any cellphones or electronic devices into the courthouse for Trump’s arraignment. Normally reporters are exempt from the rule banning electronic devices.
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(Staff writer Summer Lin in Los Angeles contributed to this report)
