After years of feeling helpless, after years of feeling like Donald Trump really was going to get away with all of his crimes, this year has been an embarrassment of riches. We saw Trump lose in civil court in E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against him for defamation and sexual assault. We saw Trump arrested and arraigned in New York on state charges involving the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. And now this – Trump arrested and arraigned on a 38-count federal indictment in Florida. Donald Trump was arrested for the second time this year, and arraigned for the second time this year. Once again, they didn’t put handcuffs on him and he was able to turn up to the arraignment with his Secret Service detail and a Faux Melania in tow.
Former President Donald J. Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami on Tuesday to criminal charges that he risked disclosure of defense secrets and obstructed the government’s efforts to reclaim classified documents he took with him upon leaving office.
After arriving from his nearby Doral resort, Mr. Trump was booked and escorted into a 13th-floor courtroom at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in downtown Miami in a scene as surreal as it was momentous.
Inside the courtroom, Mr. Trump — wearing a dark suit and a red tie — sat with his arms crossed at the defense table while the magistrate judge overseeing the hearing described the indictment. One of his lawyers, Todd Blanche, entered a plea on Mr. Trump’s behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” he said.
Nearly two and a half years after leaving the White House, Mr. Trump — twice impeached, previously charged in an unrelated case in New York, still under investigation for his efforts to retain power following his loss in the 2020 election, but currently the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — began the legal process of defending himself against 37 counts lodged against him in the documents case last week by the special counsel, Jack Smith.
Trump’s personal aide/valet Walt Nauta was also arraigned on Tuesday but he did not offer a plea, mostly because he doesn’t have his own counsel yet. Nauta is being charged with lying to the FBI, hiding boxes of classified documents from the FBI and scheming with Trump to commit even more violations of the Espionage Act. The judge told both Trump and Nauta not to discuss the case with each other, which… LOL. They went out to eat afterwards.
Trump also doesn’t have a dedicated legal team in Florida at the moment – while he was taking meetings and trying to hire some new lawyers on Monday, he ended up coming to court with some randos and one of his New York lawyers. The case has been assigned to Judge Aileen M. Cannon, a Trump-appointee and some kind of Trump devotee. So… wow.
Trump also turned up with his son Eric and the Fauxlania I mentioned. After the arraignment, Trump stopped by a Cuban restaurant and made a scene.
Fox News showed Melania* at the courthouse earlier, and for the first time, I found myself starting to believe the Melania body double conspiracies.
Surprise twist: It was not Melania* pic.twitter.com/K4x7s55tTy
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) June 13, 2023
“Food for everyone!”
— Trump at Versailles, a Cuban restaurant, after pleading not guilty in the classified documents case pic.twitter.com/hlAVwQdo3t
— The Recount (@therecount) June 13, 2023
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
