Former President Donald Trump has entered a plea of not guilty to 37 charges concerning the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
During the proceedings on Tuesday, deputy marshals completed the booking process by taking electronic copies of Trump’s fingerprints. However, they did not take a mugshot of him due to his high level of recognition. The entire booking process lasted approximately 10 minutes.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s aide and co-defendant, was also arrested, fingerprinted, and processed.
The criminal charges filed by the Justice Department in the classified documents case have intensified the legal risks faced by the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination.
The hearing held on Tuesday was primarily procedural. Trump entered his plea, and there was a discussion about the terms of his pretrial release. Potential restrictions on Trump’s behavior throughout the case may also be addressed.
Special counsel Jack Smith was present at the arraignment.
Trump is being confronted with 37 felony counts, accusing him of illegally retaining national defense information and concealing documents, which violates witness-tampering laws in the Justice Department’s investigation into the materials.
Nauta, a close aide to Trump, is also named in the indictment. The indictment, unsealed on Friday, alleges that both men conspired to obstruct the federal investigation. Nauta will also appear in court.
Trump, accompanied by Nauta in a separate vehicle, departed from his Doral resort in a motorcade on Tuesday. As he entered his vehicle, a bystander inquired about his well-being, to which Trump responded, “great,” and waved.
Before heading to court, Trump posted on social media, describing the day as “ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE!!!”
The hearing on Tuesday marked the beginning of what will likely be a lengthy and dramatic legal process involving criminal and appeal proceedings that could extend for years. The case has been assigned to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated by Trump. Cannon’s decision last year, ordering a third-party review of an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, was widely criticized and later overturned by a conservative appeals court.
The magistrate judge overseeing Tuesday’s proceedings was expected to be Jonathan Goodman, the magistrate on duty in Miami for the week.
Nature of Tuesday’s hearing
The hearing on Tuesday served as both an “initial appearance” and an arraignment, where Trump had the opportunity to enter his plea.
Lawyers representing Trump and Nauta appeared in court on their behalf. According to Florida rules, the defendants must have at least one lawyer licensed in the state representing them.
Attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise are expected to represent Trump during his arraignment. However, Kise’s role going forward remains uncertain, as he was sidelined during last year’s litigation over the Mar-a-Lago search due to internal conflicts within the Trump legal team.
Lindsey Halligan, another attorney licensed in Florida who worked on Trump’s lawsuit regarding the search, remains on Trump’s legal team and may be present at the hearing.
Outside the courthouse, Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, spoke about the former president’s defiance and criticized what she called a “two-tiered system of justice” and an “unapologetic weaponization of the criminal justice system” in the indictment.
During the hearing, the magistrate judge discussed the bond package that would allow the defendants to remain out of detention while awaiting trial. The court may impose requirements such as notifying the probation office before traveling to certain locations. Prosecutors might also request restrictions on Trump and Nauta, including limitations on their communication with witnesses.
The case is represented by Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s counterintelligence chief, listed as representing the government. Lawyers from the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida, led by US Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, are also likely to be present. It is unclear who from Jack Smith’s team will attend the proceedings, or if Smith himself will be present.
Seriousness of the charges
Before the recent federal indictment, Trump was already facing criminal charges from local prosecutors in New York City relating to an alleged hush money scheme during the 2016 campaign, involving falsification of business records.
The new charges in the DOJ documents case are significantly more severe and carry the potential for several years of imprisonment if Trump is ultimately convicted.
Thirty-one of the charges against Trump are for the willful retention of national defense information, which does not depend on whether the documents are classified. In addition to the obstruction conspiracy charge, Trump also faces four counts related to document concealment and a charge of making false statements.
“In a case like this, obstruction and tampering help prove the main charge, that the defendant willfully engaged in the charged conduct,” said David Aaron, a former federal prosecutor in the DOJ’s national security division. Aaron added that such facts could influence the perception of the case by the judge, jury, or the public, and significantly affect the sentencing.
What happens next
Following Tuesday’s hearing, the case will proceed with pretrial proceedings, involving disputes over the admissibility of evidence and potential motions to dismiss before the trial begins. The Trump team will likely seek to prolong the process, possibly extending it beyond the 2024 election.
One crucial variable in the case’s prosecution is Judge Cannon, who sits in Ft. Pierce, Florida. She is part of the pool of judges randomly assigned cases filed in West Palm Beach, where the new indictment was filed.
“The power of a district judge in a federal case is immense,” said Alan Rozenshtein, a former attorney in the DOJ’s National Security Division. Rozenshtein added that Cannon could potentially create significant problems for the prosecution if she chose to do so, although it is unlikely to be an existential threat.
Cannon’s handling of the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search lawsuit last year raised concerns among legal experts from different perspectives due to her apparent efforts to establish special legal rules favoring the former president. Her reasoning for ordering a review of the search was heavily criticized by a panel of right-leaning appellate judges, including two Trump appointees, in December of the previous year.
“We cannot predict how cautious she might be after the heavy criticism she faced from the 11th Circuit,” said Kel McClanahan, a national security lawyer and adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School.
Goodbye America. It was such a great country while it lasted. It’s all over now. Let the illegal migrant bums and the transgenders take over and turn it into a 3rd world country. Thank you Chris Wray and Merrick Garland for putting the final nails in Americas coffin.
Wrongly half attacked.
Growing Trump favor somewhat.
A man who is fearlessly wasting his time.
That’s a lie. Trump was never arrested. He was arraigned but not arrested. He didn’t even get an arrest summons.