INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back.The
history-making court date, centered on charges that Trump mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to
protect, kickstarts a legal process that will unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not
only for his political future but also for his own personal liberty.Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting
But inside the courtroom, he sat silently, scowling and arms crossed, as a lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a brief
arraignment that ended without him having to surrender his passport or otherwise restrict his travel.The arraignment, though largely
procedural in nature, was the latest in an unprecedented reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush
money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the
results of the 2020 race.Always in campaign mode, he swiftly pivoted from the solemn courtroom to a festive restaurant, stopping on his way
of campaigning with courtroom stops accompanying his status as a twice-indicted criminal defendant.Yet the gravity of the moment was
unmistakable.Until last week, no former president had ever been charged by the Justice Department, let alone accused of mishandling
classified documents in his bedroom, bathroom, shower and other locations at Mar-a-Lago and trying to hide them from the Justice Department
as investigators demanded them back
The charges carry a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.Trump has relied on a familiar playbook of painting himself as a
victim of political persecution
what and addressed supporters Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, where he delivered a roughly half-hour speech full of
sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last November to a special counsel, Jack Smith,
in the front row behind his team of prosecutors.The court appearance unfolded against angst over potential protests, with some high-profile
backers using barbed rhetoric to voice support
the court appearance, other than to occasionally turn and whisper to his attorneys who were seated on either side of him
He fiddled with a pen and clasped his hands on the table in front of him as the lawyers and the judge debated the conditions of his
presiding over the arraignment directed Trump to not discuss the case with certain witnesses
the FBI about it.Nauta did not enter a plea Tuesday because he did not have a local lawyer with him.Trump attorney Todd Blanche objected to
no emotion as he was led by law enforcement out of the courtroom through a side door.Even for a man whose presidency and post-White House
life have been defined by criminal investigations, the documents probe had long stood out both because of the volume of evidence that
prosecutors had seemed to amass and the severity of the allegations.A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months, but
obstruction occurred.Though Trump appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he
appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review
the seized classified documents
Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M
Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key
witness.The indictment Friday accuses Trump of illegally retaining national security documents that he took with him from the White House to
Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021
The documents he stored, prosecutors say, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the United States and
repeatedly sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing Nauta to move boxes and also suggesting to
his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.Source: AP--Agencies
