At 3 p.m. today, Donald Trump will walk into a Miami courtroom, his head held high, and be placed under arrest.
His fingerprints will be taken digitally, and then he'll be arraigned in front of a federal judge - but it's unlikely he will be in handcuffs or have his mugshot taken.
The former U.S. president is being charged with 37 felonies in a historic indictment, which was unsealed on Friday.
It's the first time a former president is facing federal charges in American history, according to CNN.
The 49-page indictment alleges that Trump mishandled classified documents, storing several boxes of them in the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, and that he conspired to obstruct justice.
Altogether, Trump is being charged with:
- 31 counts of willful retention of National Defense information
- 1 count of conspiracy to obstruct justice
- 1 count of withholding a document or record
- 1 count of corruptly concealing a document or record
- 1 count of concealing a document in a federal investigation
- 1 count of scheming to conceal
- 1 count of providing false statements and misrepresentations
Walt Nauta, one of Trump's former aides, is also being charged in the indictment — he faces one count of providing false statements and representations.
Several of the charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while others carry a maximum of 20 years.
Trump and is expected to plead not guilty when he appears before Federal Judge Aileen Cannon this afternoon, the former president told Fox News Digital.
What is an arraignment?
Today's court session will be an arraignment — not to be confused with the full trial, which is scheduled for March 25, 2024.
Judge Cannon will explain the charges to the Republican politician and explain his right to an attorney and a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment.
Trump will then submit his official plea, as will Nauta.
The businessman will likely be represented by attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise as well as another to-be-named lawyer admitted to practice law in the southern district of Florida.
Blanche and Kise were hired after his former lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, quit last week.
Cameras will be prohibited in the courtroom during the proceedings, according to The New York Times.
The former president is expected to speak about the arraignment when he returns to the Trump International Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey — the very place he is accused of sharing a classified Pentagon "plan of attack" with an individual without the proper security clearances in July 2021 and later, a confidential map detailing a military operation to an uncleared member of his political action committee.
What happens when Trump gets to the courthouse?
Trump’s legal team is still not complete after two of his attorneys, Jim Trusty and John Rowley resigned following news of the indictment.
Attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise are expected to represent Trump in court Tuesday afternoon for his arraignment and he needs a lawyer who is admitted to practice law in the southern district of Florida.
Nauta is expected to appear with his attorney, Stanley Woodward, who is funded by Trump’s Save America PAC.
Who is Judge Aileen Cannon?
Cannon was appointed by Trump in 2020 near the end of his presidency.
Last year, she controversially granted the former president's legal team a request to review files at the center of the Mar-a-Lago case — a decision later overturned by an appeals court.
Originally from Colombia, the 42-year old now resides in Florida and has been practicing law for over a decade.
She graduated from Duke University and The University of Michigan Law School and was an editor for the latter's Journal of Law Reform publication.
Cannon will set the pace and the rules for the proceedings — and will set a precedent as she does.
