Donald Trump Now Under Arrest
Former President Donald Trump has been arrested at the federal courthouse in Miami and will be arraigned on charges related to mishandling classified documents.
Tuesday’s hearing will operate as both an “initial appearance” and as a so-called arraignment as well, with Trump having the opportunity to enter his plea in the case.
Lawyers for Trump and Trump’s aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, will enter appearances in court on their behalf, and Florida rules require that the defendants have at least one lawyer barred in the state representing them.
Attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise are expected to represent Trump in court, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. However, the role Kise will play going forward is unclear, and he was sidelined during last year’s litigation over the Mar-a-Lago search amid Trump team in-fighting.
Another Florida-licensed attorney, Lindsey Halligan – who also worked on Trump’s lawsuit last year over the search – remains on Trump’s team and may be present Tuesday.
Both defendants will be subjected to booking by the US Marshals Services as part of Tuesday’s events, though under Justice Department rules, their mug shots will not be immediately publicly available.
At the hearing, the magistrate judge will discuss the bond package that will allow the defendants to remain out of detention while they await trial. There might be requirements that they notify the court’s probation office before travelling to certain locations. Prosecutors also might ask that restrictions be placed on Trump and Nauta barring their communications with witnesses.
The Justice Department’s counterintelligence chief Jay Bratt, who has been a key player in the documents probe so far, is listed on the case’s document as representing the government. But it’s likely that lawyers from the Southern District of Florida’s US Attorney’s office – which is led by US Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, who was confirmed by the Senate in December – are present Tuesday as well. It’s unclear who from Smith’s team will be at the proceedings, or if Smith himself will show up.
Donald Trump will not have his mugshot taken as he appears in a Florida court to face charges of mishandling sensitive files, officials say.
But the former president is expected to be fingerprinted and give a DNA sample after Tuesday’s hearing in Miami.
The city police chief said the force was ready for crowds of between 5,000 and 50,000 people to gather.
The hearing will be the second time Mr Trump has appeared in court this year, but Tuesday’s case is more serious.
City officials have prepared for protests outside the Wilkie D Ferguson Jr court in downtown Miami, after the former president called on supporters to gather.
By Tuesday morning, crowds had begun to form, but the scene remained peaceful, with journalists outnumbering Trump supporters.
Miami police were directing traffic away from the court entrance, but no fences or barriers were being used to hold demonstrators back.
Mr Trump will appear in front of a judge. He is expected to deny 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back.
The hearing will last for about an hour and will address various procedural issues, although it is unlikely a trial date will be set. A judge earlier rejected a request by news organisations to allow photo and video access inside.
The Republican former president is expected to be joined in court by attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise. But Mr Trump will continue to meet with other Florida lawyers this week after two of his attorneys quit last week.
Mr Trump, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, is then expected to return to his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will make remarks to the media.
Police officers and sniffer dogs have been patrolling the area surrounding the court in central Miami.
“Make no mistake about it – we’re taking this event extremely serious,” police chief Manuel Morales said. “We know that there is a potential of things taking a turn for the worse.”
The charges, which were made public on Friday, came after FBI agents found more than 100 documents with classified markings at Mr Trump’s private Florida estate Mar-a-Lago in August.
They 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.
Prosecutors accuse 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.
Mr Trump’s legal troubles appear not to have diminished his support among Republican voters. He remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
A poll by the BBC’s US partner CBS found 76% of likely Republican primary voters were more concerned about the indictment being politically motivated than about the documents posing a national security risk.
Mr Trump has repeatedly accused the Biden administration of weaponising law enforcement agencies against him in an interview with a Spanish-language radio programme on Monday.
Protocol dictates that the Department of Justice, the federal agency that enforces US law, should operate independently from the White House. “I have never once – not one single time – suggested to the justice department what they should do,” President Biden said last week.
Legal experts say the criminal charges could lead to substantial prison time if he is convicted. Mr Trump, however, has vowed to continue his campaign for president whatever the verdict.
He will appear in court alongside a close aide, Walt Nauta, who was charged by the same grand jury in Florida. Mr Nauta faces six criminal counts related to alleged mishandling of national security documents.
Mr Trump’s court appearance will be his second in less than three months. He was arraigned in April in New York on charges that he falsified business records for a hush-money payment to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.