For the second time in two months, a motorcade of black Secret Service SUVs escorted Donald Trump to court, and for the second time, the former US president pleaded “not guilty”. On Tuesday, it was before federal justice, in Miami, in the affair of the top secret documents of the Maison Banche for which he faces 37 charges of “illegal retention of information relating to national security”, of ” obstruction of justice” and “false testimony”.
In the evening, Donald Trump denounced from his summer residence in Bedminster, New Jersey, an “abuse of power” by the “Ministry of Injustice”. He vowed to “never throw in the towel” and remain a candidate at all costs, as a possible prison sentence and victory in November 2024 would plunge the United States into an unprecedented democratic and constitutional crisis. .
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith present
On Tuesday, Donald Trump did not speak at the hearing in a federal court in Miami where television cameras were not allowed. It was one of his lawyers, Todd Blanche, who told the judge: “We unequivocally plead not guilty”.
According to the media, special prosecutor Jack Smith was present and stared intensely at Donald Trump, who did not show any noticeable emotions.
The former US president, who had been placed under arrest, was later released without having to pay bail. He keeps his passport and will be able to travel without restriction during the presidential campaign. On the other hand, he is prohibited from discussing the case with witnesses or with his personal assistant Walt Nauta, his co-defendant charged with “obstructing justice” for having moved boxes of classified documents at the request of his boss, according to prosecutors, to cover them up.
Trump lifted on the eve of his birthday
Massed around the court, hundreds of supporters sang “We want Trump” (“We want Trump”) as the procession left the scene. Donald Trump treated himself to an unexpected walkabout and paid for his rounds in the Versailles restaurant, a Miami institution frequented by the Cuban diaspora, mostly conservative.
Back in his summer residence in Bedminster, New Jersey, Donald Trump denounced in front of his supporters “the most malicious abuse of power in the history of our country”. Angry against “fabricated” charges and “election interference”, he said he was the victim of “political persecution”, assuring that history would remember Joe Biden as the “president who (…) tried to destroy American democracy”.
As his supporters sang him a “Happy Birthday”, on the eve of his 77th birthday, Donald Trump assured them that he would win the presidential election in November 2024 and appoint a special prosecutor to “investigate the corruption of Joe Biden”. A 30-minute bravado campaign speech that does not change the reality: Donald Trump remains the first ex-president to be criminally charged, under threat of charges described as “overwhelming” by his former justice minister Bill Barr.