Former United States President Donald Trump appeared in Federal Court in Miami, Florida, to face 37 indictments, Of which, 31 are related to the voluntary retention of national security information, which is classified as a crime of espionage.
Upon appearing on the premises, the 76-year-old Republican was placed under arrest by the Court authorities; marking the second arrest of him, pues just two months ago, the former leader of the White House was also indicted in the Stormy Daniels case in a Manhattan court.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to mishandling government secrets.
He The case of Miami seems more compromising than that of New Yorkalthough Trump has shown more than once that he survives problems politically, when he does not turn them into an opportunity.
In United States a law obliges Presidents to send all their emails, letters and other working documents to the National Archives and other pIt is prohibited from keeping state secrets in unauthorized and insecure places.
In January 2021, when he left the White House for his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, Trump took dozens of boxes full of files. In January 2022, after receiving several requests from the authorities, Trump decided to return boxes with some 200 classified documents.
The FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago
Convinced that he had not handed over all the documents in his possessionseveral FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago on August 8 and they took another thirty boxes with 11,000 documents inside.
Trump faces other legal investigations. A Georgia prosecutor must announce the result of her investigation into the alleged pressures she exerted to try to change the result of the 2020 presidential elections by September.
The criminal trial for the open case in New York will probably be held at the beginning of 2024, in the middle of the campaign for the Republican primaries, in which Trump is the great favorite.
Donald Trump arrived in Miami yesterday to testify in the criminal case he is facing for illegally withholding United States national security documents. In addition, he is accused of lying to officials who tried to recover them.
«We must all be STRONG and DEFEAT the communists, marxists and lunatics of the radical left who are systematically destroying our countryhe wrote on his Truth Social Trump social media platform on Monday.
When could Trump be tried?
Experts say it could be a year or more before a trial is held, due to the complexities of handling classified evidence. Trump’s lawyers could file a series of motions to challenge Smith’s casewhich would cause further delays.
Trump is the first president or former president of the United States to face criminal chargesbut that has not dampened his hopes of returning to the White House.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, he maintains a wide lead over his rivals for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. 81% of Republican voters believe the charges against him are politically motivated.
Trump has maintained his innocence. In addition, he considered that the case represents an attempt to undermine his re-election effort.
Following his court appearance, Trump is scheduled to fly back to his New Jersey golf course. There he is scheduled to give a speech in the afternoon. In Miami, fewer people than expected went to court to support or boo the former head of state.
What is Donald Trump accused of in Miami?
Special counsel Jack Smith accuses Trump of taking thousands of papers containing some of the national security secrets more sensitive when he left the White House in January 2021 and haphazardly storing them at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate, according to a grand jury indictment released last week. Legal experts say the case is strong.
The charges include violations of the espionage law, which criminalizes the unauthorized possession of defense information, and conspiracy to obstruct justicewhich carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
It is worth noting that any federal lawsuit in Florida It cannot be held until after the November 2024 presidential elections. Trump is also due to go to trial in March 2024 in a separate case in New York state court, stemming from a hush money payment to a porn star.
With information from Reuters
