Former US President Donald Trump was taken into custody at a Miami courthouse on Tuesday, where he will face criminal charges for unlawful possession of national security documents after leaving the White House and lying to government officials who attempted to return them.
Trump and his former aide, Walt Nauta, were arrested ahead of their scheduled arraignment at 3 p.m. ET, a court spokesperson said. The court hearing is held behind closed doors.
This is Trump’s second visit to the court in recent months. In April, he pleaded not guilty to charges in New York for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. In Miami, he will face federal charges.
Supporters of the ex-president wearing “Make America Great Again” baseball caps and carrying American flags chanted “Miami for Trump” and “Latinos for Trump” as the motorcade pulled up outside the courthouse.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told reporters outside the courthouse that there were no security concerns in the city. Authorities were bracing for possible violence with the attack on the Capitol building in mind. American on January 6, 2021.
Trump has repeatedly declared his innocence, accusing the Joe Biden administration of political persecution. On Tuesday, he called Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, a “Trump hater.”
Smith accuses Trump of compromising national security secrets by taking thousands of sensitive documents with him when he left the White House in January 2021. The grand jury indictment, released last week, has said the documents were stored “randomly” at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and at a golf club in New Jersey.
The indictment alleges that Trump lied to government officials who attempted to return the documents. The filing of federal charges against a former president is unprecedented in American history.
The indictment also alleges that Trump conspired with his aide, Walt Nauta, to keep documents secret from a federal grand jury.
Recent events have not dampened Trump’s hopes of returning to the White House. After the impeachment, Trump was to fly from Miami to his golf club in New Jersey, where he was to speak with supporters.
Nor have Trump’s legal troubles hurt his reputation with Republican voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed Trump still leading by a wide margin for the 2024 Republican nomination, with 81% of Republican voters saying the allegations were politically motivated.
Most of Trump’s Republican rivals in the upcoming primaries have come out in favor of him. One of the candidates, Vivek Ramaswamy, promised he would forgive Trump if elected. Other Republican candidates have accused the FBI of political bias, and some have called for the office to be disbanded.
The 37-count indictment includes violations of the Espionage Act, which criminalizes the unauthorized possession of military information, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Legal experts say the evidence is strong. Trump faces a “speedy” trial, Special Counsel Smith said.
Judge Eileen Cannon, who hears the case, was appointed by Trump in 2020 and ruled in his favor at last year’s inquiry, which was later overturned on appeal. However, the hearing, which takes place on Tuesday, is led by federal judge Jonathan Goodman.
Experts say it could take a year or more before trial due to the complexity of reviewing classified evidence. Trump’s lawyers could file numerous motions to challenge Smith’s case before it goes to trial, which would cause further delays.
At the same time, Trump is free to campaign for the presidency and can take office even if convicted. Trump accuses President Joe Biden of orchestrating a federal case to undermine his potential nominee’s campaign during the next elections. Biden declines to comment on the lawsuit against Trump.
Trump claimed he gave the order to declassify all documents he removed from the Oval Office at his White House residence. But the indictment alleges that Trump was well aware of the laws governing classified national security information and deliberately flouted them by unidentified people – a writer, an editor and two employees – at his New Jersey golf club, telling them that the document was “strictly confidential”. and “secret” and that he could no longer declassify it.
In another instance, in September 2021, Trump showed a secret card to a representative of his political action committee, telling him that he “must not show (him) this document and that (he) must not get too close,” the indictment reads. .
After the arraignment, Trump will be released on bail. The start date of his trial remains uncertain. Some experts suggest it could take months and could even be delayed until the 2024 election. However, despite growing legal troubles, Trump can still run for president and has pledged to continue the campaign even if he is found guilty.
“I will never stop,” Trump said in an interview with Politico on Saturday.
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