Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to a 37-count indictment in federal court in Miami today. He is the first former president in U.S. history to face such charges.
News outlets began reporting his plea at about 12:09 p.m. PT/3:09 p.m. ET, with The Washington Post reporting that Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche told the court, “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty.”
Earlier, Trump was arrested and fingerprinted, but no mugshot was taken.
The indictment of Trump alleges that the former president “put at risk the national security of the United States” by mishandling classified documents.
Looking at over 20 years in prison and millions in fine if found guilty on the 37-counts, current GOP presidential candidate is facing claims from the feds that he blatantly lied about his retention of the top-secret material in an effort to “obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations.”
There was be no TV coverage of the hearing itself, as the U.S. District Court in Miami has restricted journalists from any electronic devices or cell phones in the courthouse. There was an overflow courtroom, which apparently allowed reporters to come in and out to report details to their news desks. That said, journalists were not allowed to use their cell phones or any electronic devices inside the courthouse.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said that they had a team “inside the courthouse making calls back because they do not have access. Obviously we don’t have cameras in there. There is no audio. They’re having to come out and transmit this information to us.”
Trump later will travel to Bedminster, NJ, where he is expected to deliver remarks to supporters, just as he did during his first indictment.
The former president has attacked the prosecution as politically motivated, characterizing Special Counsel Jack Smith as “deranged” and posting numerous social media tirades over what he calls the “boxes hoax.” Trump has offered a number of defenses, including that the documents were declassified when he was president and, earlier on Tuesday, that some of the material was planted.
