Trump pleads not guilty in classified documents indictment

Former President Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges on 37 counts following a Department of Justice indictment alleging he violated both the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them.

The arraignment was Trump’s second this year, but his appearance in a Miami courthouse was his first on federal charges. He is the first former president or candidate for president to face such charges.

Trump, who is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 GOP presidential primary, had told conservative radio host Howie Carr earlier in the week how he would plead.

“I just say, ‘Not guilty.’ I didn’t do anything wrong. I did nothing wrong. Presidential Records Act. It’s not even a criminal event. There’s no criminality here. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said in the Monday interview. 

Trump was indicted Thursday in connection with the investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith, with the unsealed charging document revealing Trump would also be facing charges on concealing documents and making false statements. 

The arraignment was held before Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, though Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw Trump’s earlier challenge to the Mar-a-Lago investigation, is slated to oversee subsequent hearings in the case.

Trump was accompanied by attorneys Todd Blanche, who is also representing him in a New York prosecution related to hush money payments, as well as Christopher Kise, who previously represented Trump in the Mar-a-Lago probe. Trump’s main attorneys on the case resigned Friday, and Trump is still searching for a Florida-based firm to round out his legal team.

“We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” Blanche said.

Trump was reported to have spent the hearing sitting with his arms folded and a serious expression on his face but waved to supporters and observers when exiting the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. courthouse. 

Courtroom drawings, the only visuals allowed of the proceeding, show Trump standing alongside his attorneys.

Blanche entered the not guilty plea on Trump’s behalf.

Trump and Walt Nauta, his co-defendant who is alleged to have aided Trump in concealing the records, were released without bond restrictions or travel restrictions. 

Trump’s attorneys and the Justice Department clashed over Trump’s contact with witnesses in the case, including many who still work for him at Mar-a-Lago, a group that includes Nauta. Prosecutors spoke with a number of Mar-a-Lago employees while crafting the case.

Goodman determined that Trump and Nauta could only communicate about the case through their attorneys, while the Justice Department is tasked with crafting a list of witnesses it wishes to block Trump from communicating with.

The bulk of the Justice Department case is based on 31 documents found among the more than 300 kept at Mar-a-Lago. A breakdown of the documents indicates many were classified at a high level; the documents included information on U.S. military capabilities and details on nuclear weapons. Trump also kept White House intelligence briefings on foreign countries and their military capabilities and plans, the indictment says.

Espionage Act prosecutions do not require proving that someone mishandled classified records, but that they willfully retained documents important to the national defense.

Trump has previously said the documents in his possession were declassified, claiming that a president is able to do so just by thinking about it.

Evidence relayed in the indictment counters that, relaying an audio recording of a conversation in which Trump laments he did not declassify a document while in office and therefore cannot share it.

The indictment also alleges that Trump took efforts to mislead his attorney, having Nauta move boxes in and out of the storage room ahead of a search in response to a subpoena for the return of classified records.

Beyond the classified records addressed by the indictment, Trump left with 13,000 government records from his presidency, with the records moved frequently as the National Archives and later the Justice Department sought to recover them.

The filing breaks down the boxes’ movement across the property, at one point piled sitting on a ballroom stage and in another instance shoved into a bathroom. One photo included in the indictment shows the records spilled out onto the floor.

Trump also suggested to his attorney that they lie about the documents or destroy them in order to avoid lawful compliance.

Those efforts are also likely to be key to the case, as prosecutors must show Trump willfully kept the records.

In announcing the indictment Friday, Smith asked the public to read the indictment to “understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.”

“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk,” he said.

Immediately after his court appearance concluded Tuesday, Trump made an appearance at Versailles, a popular restaurant and hub of the politically-active Cuban population in Miami.

The visit effectively turned his court appearance on federal charges stemming from his handling of classified documents into a campaign stop with supporters. 

“Food for everyone,” Trump shouted shortly after supporters in the restaurant repeatedly chanted “USA!”

Those in the building also sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who will turn 77 on Wednesday. 

Following the hearing, Trump is slated to return to New Jersey, where he is expected to address supporters. He has repeatedly cast the prosecution as a witch hunt, a sentiment that’s been echoed by many of his supporters. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested Monday the documents weren’t entirely unsecured.

“A bathroom door locks,” he said. 

Still, some have remarked on the serious nature of the charges.

Trump challenger Nikki Haley said Monday that if the facts of the indictment prove true, Trump was “incredibly reckless,” but added Tuesday that is she is “inclined in favor of a pardon” for him.

And Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) blamed Trump for bringing trouble in on himself.

“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so,” he said when the indictment was announced.

Updated at 5:51 p.m. EDT.