Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to historic charges of mishandling sensitive files at a federal court in Miami, Florida.
Gatekeepers News reports that Trump is the first US president (current or former) to be hit with a federal criminal indictment.
The Republican who travelled to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to address his supporters, struck a defiant tone and told the assembled crowd he had “every right” to hold the classified documents, but “hadn’t had a chance to go through all the boxes.”
Against a backdrop of American flags, Mr Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said he followed the law and went on to list series of unsubstantiated claims as well as grievances against President Joe Biden and his former rival Hillary Clinton.
Just hours before, in a 13th-floor room of a federal courthouse in downtown Miami, a sombre, subdued Trump looked on while his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back.
The attorney, Todd Blanche, told the judge, “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty.”
The former President’s co-defendant, Walt Nauta (his close aide) charged with six criminal counts in the case was sitting at the same table as the former president.
Trump, who turned 77 on Wednesday, was allowed to leave court without any restrictions to domestic or international travel.
Meanwhile, prosecutors told Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman the defendant was not considered a flight risk.
However, Trump will not be allowed to discuss the case with Mr Nauta.
A lawyer attorney for the former president, Alina Habba repeated the former president’s claims that the charges were politically motivated as she addressed media outside court.
Habba said, “We are at a turning point in our nation’s history, the targeting prosecution of a leading political opponent is the type of thing you see in dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela.
“What is being done to the President Trump should terrify all citizens of this country.”
Before the hearing, court officials said Trump would not have a mugshot taken but would be digitally fingerprinted and asked to submit a DNA sample by swab.
Although the trial date has not yet been set, the case is still earmarked for Aileen Cannon, a federal district judge in South Florida who was appointed by Trump.
The charges, which were made public on Friday, came after FBI agents found more than 100 documents with classified markings at the former President’s private Florida estate Mar-a-Lago in August.
Prosecutors allegedly contained information about the defence and weapons capabilities of both the US and foreign countries, as well as plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.
They accused him of hoarding the files, storing some in a ballroom and a bathroom, and of engaging in a conspiracy with an aide to obstruct the FBI’s inquiry.
