Donald Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges of illegally possessing classified documents

Miami: Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents, CNN reported. His lawyers have asked for a jury trial during Trump’s hearing in a federal court in Miami on Tuesday.

Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche told the judge, “We certainly enter a plea of ​​not guilty.” NBC News reported that Trump was arrested after surrendering to federal authorities at a Miami courthouse. The booking process took about 10 minutes.

Prior to the indictment, deputy marshals booked Trump and took electronic copies of his fingerprints, reports CNN. The officers did not take a picture of the former US President as he is easily recognizable.

Trump aide and co-defendant Walt Nautu also arrested

Trump aide and co-defendant Walt Notoo was also arrested, fingerprinted and processed. Criminal charges in a case of classified documents of the US Justice Department add to the legal woes of the Republican Party front-runner for the 2024 presidential elections, the report said.

Trump accused of illegally hoarding classified documents

Former US President Donald Trump is charged with 37 felonies alleging he illegally retained national defense information and that he violated witness-tampering laws in a US Justice Department investigation into the material, CNN reports. hid the documents. Trump aide Walt Nauta is also charged in the indictment which alleges the two men were involved in a conspiracy to obstruct the federal investigation.

Saddest day in American democracy: Trump

Donald Trump left his resort on Tuesday in his convoy with Walt Nauta, who was traveling in a separate vehicle. Before going to court, Trump wrote on his social media that it was “one of the saddest days in the history of our country. We are a nation in decline!!!,” CNN reported.

One of Trump’s lawyers criticized and ridiculed the justice system for what he described as a “two-tier system of justice”. She called the indictment against Trump “an unproven weaponization of the criminal justice system.” He made the remarks outside the Miami courthouse where Donald Trump is being debated.

Addressing a press conference outside the court on Tuesday (local time), Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said, “Today is not about Donald J. Trump, who is insubordinate,” CNN reported. He continued, “This is not about the Republican Party. This is not about the 2024 election. This is about the destruction of the long-standing American principles that have kept this country apart for so long.” ”

Alina Habba compared the impeachment of the former US president to “the kind of thing you see in a dictatorship”. She said, “What is being done to President Trump should horrify all citizens of this country” and added, “This is not our America,” CNN reported.

In response to a question about how Trump was feeling, Habba said, “He’s defiant.” She said that Trump “is not a flight risk” and that he is going through a process coordinated with the Secret Service and that everything will be handled “basically”.

The magistrate judge will supervise the court proceedings on Tuesday. The hearing will be conducted as a “preliminary appearance” and as a so-called arraignment. At the court hearing, the magistrate judge will discuss the bond package that would enable the defendants to remain out of detention while awaiting trial.

Defendants may be required to notify the court’s probation office before going to a certain location, the report said. Prosecutors may request the court to impose restrictions on Trump and Nauta, barring their communication with witnesses.