Like an air of deja vu. Already charged by New York State justice in the Stormy Daniels case, with a trial scheduled for March 2024, Donald Trump is facing federal justice this time. Targeted by 37 counts, in particular for having kept defense secrets in his personal residence, the former American president must appear before a judge in Miami at 3 p.m. (midnight, Paris time) on Tuesday. Before returning to his summer residence in New Jersey, from where he should speak overnight, on the eve of his 77th birthday.
A hearing at which he should plead not guilty
Donald Trump, who flees the humidity of Florida and has made his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, his summer headquarters, arrived in the “Sunshine state” on Monday evening. His “arraignment” (the reading of the indictment) is scheduled for 3 p.m. in federal court in Miami. He should go to justice just before, probably via an entrance at the level of the underground car park.
Donald Trump will then be under arrest, but as in New York, he will undoubtedly escape handcuffs and a photo, the famous “mugshot”. The hearing is expected to be short and the former president has announced his intention to plead not guilty. Cameras are not allowed in federal courts, but reporters in attendance may be allowed to use their smartphones, including to tweet.
A controversial judge
The Department of Justice chose the Southern District of Florida to indict Donald Trump, primarily for geographic reasons. The former White House tenant faces 31 counts of “willful retention of Defense-related documents”, which he is accused of having kept in his residence in Mar-a-Lago, in particular in a room of ball unsecured and even in a bathtub. He must also respond to charges of “false statements” and “conspiracy” for “obstructing justice”.
Prosecutors would no doubt have had the easier part in Washington, but they would have run the risk of jurisdiction being challenged on appeal. Chance of the draw, it was Judge Cannon who inherited the file. Appointed by Donald Trump, she had, during the investigation phase, limited prosecutors’ access to classified documents and appointed an arbitrator to review them. Contested decisions on which judges had returned on appeal. Each side should file appeals during the pre-trial phase, and it is still possible that the file will change hands later.
Combative, Trump will speak Tuesday evening
In an election rally this weekend, Donald Trump denounced in bulk a “baseless indictment” and the “corruption” of the Department of Justice. Presidential candidate, he swore that he would not throw in the towel even if he was sentenced to prison.
Because it is about federal justice, the candidate could in theory, if elected in November 2024, pardon himself upon taking office. On the other hand, Donald Trump could not escape a prison sentence in New York – or potentially in Georgia, where a prosecutor must rule on a possible indictment linked to the presidential election of 2020 this summer.
If experts believe that nothing in the law prevents a president from governing from his cell, such a scenario would plunge the United States into constitutional chaos.
We are not there yet. In the immediate future, Donald Trump has planned to speak on his return to New Jersey at 8:15 p.m. (Wednesday at 2:15 a.m. in Paris). A birthday present that Donald Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday, would have gone well.