Posted on 06/13/23
| News Source: The Hill
Former President Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges on 37 counts following a Department of Justice indictment alleging he violated both the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them.
The arraignment was Trump’s second this year but his appearance in a Miami courthouse was his first on federal charges. He is the first former president or candidate for president to face such charges.
Trump, who is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 GOP presidential primary, previewed in a conversation with conservative radio host Howie Carr how he would plead.
“I just say, ‘not guilty.’ I didn’t do anything wrong. I did nothing wrong. Presidential Records Act. It’s not even a criminal event. There’s no criminality here. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said during the interview.
Trump was indicted Thursday in connection with the investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith, with the unsealed document revealing Trump would also be facing charges on concealing documents and making false statements.
The arraignment was held before Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, though Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw Trump’s earlier challenge to the Mar-a-Lago investigation, is slated to oversee subsequent hearings in the case.
Trump was accompanied by attorneys Todd Blanche, who is also representing him in a New York prosecution related to hush money payments, as well as Christopher Kise, who previously represented Trump in the Mar-a-Lago probe. Trump’s main attorneys on the case resigned Friday, and Trump is still searching for a Florida-based firm to round out his legal team.
Blanche entered the not guilty plea on Trump’s behalf.