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Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 37 Charges in Classified Docs Indictment

© AP Photo / Wilfredo LeePolice tape is wrapped around a palm tree outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse, Monday, June 12, 2023, in Miami, Fla. Former President Donald Trump is set to appear at the federal court Tuesday, on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified information.
Police tape is wrapped around a palm tree outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse, Monday, June 12, 2023, in Miami, Fla. Former President Donald Trump is set to appear at the federal court Tuesday, on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified information. - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.06.2023
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A federal indictment publicly presented on Friday revealed prosecutors were charging the former US president with 37 counts of crimes - including obstruction and unlawful retention of defense information, over his mishandling of classified documents.
Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to nearly 40 charges outlined in his first-ever federal indictment that alleges the one-time president failed to follow protocol and mishandled classified documents after leaving office.
The plea was submitted before US magistrate judge Jonathan Goodman at Trump's first scheduled court appearance in Miami, Florida, where a few hundred demonstrators and Trump supporters alike gathered outside the federal courthouse.

“We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche was reported to have said in court.

The day's proceedings saw Trump arrive at the courthouse just before 2 p.m. local time, and processed by US Marshals within a span of 15 minutes. While the president was not placed in handcuffs for the formal arrest, he was fingerprinted by authorities.
Former US President and 2024 Presidential hopeful Donald Trump gestures as he leaves after speaking at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention in Greensboro, North Carolina, on June 10, 2023 - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.06.2023
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Trump Could Turn Latest 'Bizarre' Bid to Jail Him to His Advantage
Trump was booked alongside Walt Nauta, a Navy veteran that worked as the former president's valet during his time at the White House and as a Trump's personal aide at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
US reporter Adam Reiss described the inside of the court room as including more than 40 reporters and a mix of Secret Service officials among legal officials.

Nauta was charged in the indictment with six charges that include: conspiracy to obstruct justice; withholding a document or record; corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation; scheme to conceal; and false statements and representations.

He did not submit an official plea as a separate arraignment for Nauta is scheduled for a later date.

US media reported that after federal prosecutor David Harbach agreed neither Trump nor Nauta were a flight risk, Goodman did not order either individual to surrender their passport. Trump was not asked to turn over his passport, nor were any travel limits imposed on him as a result.
This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records being stored on the stage in the White and Gold Ballroom at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to an indictment unsealed Friday, June 9, 2023.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.06.2023
What Are the Charges Filed Against Trump?
Trump has been ordered not to speak to Nauta about the case; however, he is not barred from coming into contact with the individual. In fact, the pair were spotted together at the nearby Versailles Restaurant for an impromptu stop after the court hearing.
Coverage of Trump's movements after departing the courthouse showed figures appearing to "pray" over Trump moments after he entered the eatery.
Prior to the historic case's court hearing, Trump took to social media to voice his criticism against special counsel Jack Smith, a prosecutor leading the case against Trump, and in typical Trump mannerisms resorted to name calling Smith a "thug" and a "lunatic."
Alina Habba, a lawyer representing Trump, told reporters outside the courtroom after Trump arrived on scene that "what we are witnessing today is the blatant and unapologetic weaponization of the criminal justice system."
"The people in charge of this country do not love America - they hate Donald Trump," she added.
Trump echoed similar sentiments while speaking to the press at the Versailles Restaurant, telling supporters:
"We have a rigged country. We have a country that's corrupt. We have a county that's got no borders. We have a country that's got nothing but problems. We're a nation in decline and then they do this stuff — and you see where the people are."
President Donald Trump speaks before signing a coronavirus aid package to direct funds to small businesses, hospitals, and testing, in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, April 24, 2020, in Washington. From left, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Trump, Small Business administrator Jovita Carranza, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.06.2023
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McCarthy: 'Unconscionable' for Biden to Indict 'Leading Candidate Opposing Him'
Since the indictment was first revealed by Trump on June 8, he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and stated the move is part of a political scheme intended to block his 2024 bid for the White House. As such, Trump and company have questioned why authorities have not gone after US President Joe Biden with the same tenacity as he was also found to have mishandled classified records.

Biden was earlier found to have retained multiple classified documents at his residences in Delaware and at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC, from his time as vice president under the Obama White House.

Similarly, many members of the Republican Party - including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis - have blasted the use of a government investigation in the matter.
The June indictment marks the second such legal filing issued against Trump; however, it's widely speculated that additional filings may emerge as an investigation remains ongoing in Georgia into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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