Former President Donald Trump has entered a not guilty plea to all 37 counts of federal charges brought against him in an indictment related to his handling of classified documents.
[RELATED: Trump Indicted on Federal Charges in Classified Documents Probe as Biden Faces Bribery Allegations]
Trump left his Doral, Florida, golf club in a motorcade early Tuesday afternoon to appear at the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
A large crowd of supporters and opponents of the former president congregated outside the courthouse as Trump arrived.
Federal Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman barred journalists from taking any audio or video recordings inside the courthouse during Tuesday’s proceedings.
Trump faces 37 counts including the willful retention of national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Federal prosecutor David Harbach told the Miami magistrate judge that the government does not view Trump or his aide and co-defendant in the indictment Walt Nauta “as a flight risk,” according to CNN.
Alina Habba, spokesperson for Trump, gave a statement outside the courthouse in front of supporters protesting against the indictment.
“The decision to pursue charges against President Trump while turning a blind eye to others is emblematic of the corruption that we have here,” Abba said.
“We are at a turning point in our Nation’s history. The targeting prosecution of a leading political opponent is the type of thing you see in dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela,” she said. “These are not the ideals that our democracy is founded upon. This is not our America.”
One of Trump’s challengers in the 2024 presidential Republican primary, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, came to Miami to protest against Trump’s indictment.
Ramaswamy announced outside the courthouse that he has sent a letter to every 2024 presidential candidate, challenging them to commit to pardoning Trump for the federal charges on day one of their term, or else to explain why they won’t.
“It’s gonna be difficult for those other candidates to sign this letter,” Ramaswamy said.
“The donor class has been calling every Republican candidate, and telling us to stay away from this,” he said. “I refuse to abide by being a disciple of the donor class. I think we need to declare independence from our donor class and the Republican Party.”
Ramaswamy also called out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is polling in second place behind Trump in the Republican primary, for not appearing at the Miami courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump left the Miami federal courthouse shortly before 4 p.m. on Tuesday with no travel restrictions.
Trump stopped at a Cuban restaurant in Miami after leaving the courthouse to greet supporters.
“Food for everyone!” The former president said as he walked into the restaurant. Supporters sang “Happy Birthday” for Trump, whose birthday is Wednesday, June 14.
Nauta also pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, but was not arraigned due to not having local legal counsel. He will be arraigned on June 27.
The Magistrate Judge prohibited contact between Trump and Nauta, along with a list of other people the former president would not be able to contact to discuss the specifics of the case.
Trump could possibly face two more arraignments this summer, one in Georgia for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and another from special prosecutor Jack Smith for the president’s role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol Building.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="20230 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=20230">1 Comment
This is it guys! We finally got him!! The constitutional stuff says he can’t be president if he’s under investigation for crimes. Ridin with Biden 2024!! Build Back Betterer! Slave of Ukrainia!!