Trump is also accused of sharing sensitive US classified information with people who had no security clearance.
Washington:
Donald Trump arrived in Miami on Monday to face charges of hoarding classified documents, in a legal reckoning that goes far beyond the allegations of misconduct the former US president has largely shied away from.
Trump will appear in court on Tuesday to answer allegations that he lied and plans to keep dozens of government secrets after he moves to his beachside mansion in Florida in 2021 after leaving office.
The high-stakes indictment – which Trump supporters say is a politically motivated bid to block their champion’s path to the White House – has fueled fears of unrest, with Miami police responding to a crowd of up to 50,000. is forced to
The twice-impeached Republican, who is facing charges that could carry decades in prison, made a defiant remark as he prepared to become the first of America’s 46 presidents to appear in federal court. Were.
Trump posted on his Truth social network, “We must all stand strong and defeat the Communists, Marxists and radical leftists who are systematically destroying our country.” From the court
The leader who ran in the 2024 Republican primary said the latest indictment would not force him to give up the race – launching a campaign like no other in history that will mount a legal battle against an electorate.
“I will never quit. Look, if I did quit, I would have quit before the original race in 2016,” Trump told POLITICO on his plane campaigning over the weekend.
– ‘ridiculous and baseless’ –
The billionaire, who turned 77 on Wednesday, has been charged with knowingly possessing clearly marked government secrets, refusing to return them and conspiring to obstruct investigators seeking to recover them.
He is also accused of sharing sensitive US secrets with people who did not have a security clearance, which was one of the more serious cases he had previously encountered.
The indictment included photos showing the boxes that were placed in “the ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room” at Trump’s Palm Beach residence, Mar-a-Lago.
The former president has dismissed as “ridiculous and baseless” the 49-page indictment released by the Justice Department after months of investigation by a special prosecutor.
Security was increased around Miami’s Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Courthouse, with several protests planned, including by a local chapter of the far-right Proud Boys group.
Miami’s Republican Mayor Francis Suarez told reporters, “We hope tomorrow will be peaceful. We encourage people to peacefully demonstrate how they feel.”
Trump is expected to fly to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to restate his innocence in a speech to supporters.
– ‘Rocket Docket’ –
The Republican former president has been impeached twice, accused of interfering with a federal investigation into his campaign’s wide-ranging ties to Russia, and has been found liable in a civil lawsuit for sexual assault.
His company has been convicted of fraud, his “Trump University” training plan shut down activities mired in lawsuits, and his charity was dissolved by court order amid a litany of disputes.
Trump’s campaign chairman, deputy campaign chairman, personal attorney, chief strategist, national security adviser, foreign policy adviser, campaign fixer and chief financial officer have all been convicted of crimes related to their time in office, and some face prison terms. Had to do
But in none of these cases did Trump face a personal criminal conviction.
That changed dramatically in March when a New York state prosecutor charged Trump with 34 felonies alleging he concealed money payments to a porn star.
Trump’s allies in Congress and rivals for the presidential nomination have largely circled the wagons after his new indictment, decrying the government’s “weaponization” against conservatives.
Some Republican lawmakers have been criticized for rhetoric that could inspire violence, including Clay Higgins of Louisiana, who told supporters to “buckle” and Andy Biggs of Arizona, who tweeted: “We are now in a war. An eye for an eye.”
The Southern District of Florida is known as a “rocket docket” court, which is legal slang for places that push for speedy justice, and officials have not ruled out completing the trial before the 2024 election. Is.
Much of the focus in the initial proceedings will be on District Court Judge Eileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who was randomly assigned the case and will have a lot of influence over how fast things move forward.
Cannon issued a series of rulings earlier in the case in favor of Trump, which effectively jammed the investigation for weeks until a conservative appeals court ruled that he had acted beyond his authority.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)