Former United States President Donald Trump pleaded “not guilty” to dozens of criminal counts of wilfully mishandling US government secrets and scheming to prevent their return in the first federal criminal case filed against a former US president on Tuesday, 13 June.
"One of the saddest days in the history of our country. We are a nation in decline," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform before the arraignment hearing.
This was Trump’s second arraignment as he faces several legal threats, coming just 10 weeks after he was charged with a string of felonies in Manhattan over hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared before a judge in downtown Miami to be formally presented with 37 charges brought by the government following a special counsel probe that began after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided his Florida mansion in August 2022.
The US government has accused Trump – a frontrunner in the 2024 Republican primary – of violating the Espionage Act and other laws when he removed classified documents upon leaving office and failed to give them up to the National Archives.
Authorities have further accused him of conspiring to obstruct investigators and knowingly sharing national security secrets with people who did not have the requisite clearance, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, Miami officials had prepared for large-scale protests, while the police ramped up security well in advance of what turned out only to be a few Trump supporters gathered near the courthouse.
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