Donald Trump has blasted the lawyer leading his prosecution as a “deranged lunatic” and a “thug” in an incendiary outburst hours after appearing in a Miami courtroom.
Mr Trump made the accusations in a meandering – and un-fact-checked – speech that also took fiery aim at his political opponents, including US President Joe Biden and former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
“The prosecutor in the case, I will call our case, is a thug. I have named him ‘Deranged Jack Smith’,” he said. “He’s a behind-the-scenes guy, but his record is absolutely atrocious. He does political hit jobs.”
Mr Trump said Mr Smith was “a raging and uncontrolled Trump hater, as is his wife, who happened to be the producer of that Michelle Obama puff piece”.
“This is the guy I’ve got,” he said.
Mr Smith, a previous prosecutor of war crimes at The Hague, is married to Katy Chevigny. She is a filmmaker who made a 2020 documentary about the former US first lady.
Mr Trump’s incendiary speech came not long after he left the federal court in Miami, where he pleaded not guilty to 37 federal criminal charges that he unlawfully kept national-security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them.
Mr Trump’s plea, entered before US Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman on Wednesday (AEST), sets up a legal battle likely to play out over coming months as he campaigns to win back the presidency in a November 2024 election.
Mr Smith was reportedly in the courtroom when Mr Trump entered his plea.
Mr Trump, wearing his usual blue suit and red tie, frowned and leaned back in his chair but did not speak during the 47-minute hearing.
He was allowed to leave court without conditions or travel restrictions and no cash bond was required.
Judge Goodman ruled that he was not allowed to communicate with potential witnesses in the case.
Mr Trump’s aide Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the case, appeared in court alongside him. He will not have to enter a plea until June 27 because he does not have a local lawyer.
He, too, was released without having to post bond and cannot talk to other witnesses.
However, Mr Nauta remained at Mr Trump’s side as they arrived at Cuban restaurant Versailles, in Miami, soon after leaving court. Mr Trump was surrounded by dozens of supporters as he and his team arrived.
“I think it’s going great. I think it’s a rigged deal here. We have a rigged country. We have a country that’s corrupt,” Mr Trump said in response to a question about his court appearance.
Hours later, he made another speech at one of his luxury golf clubs in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” he said to a cheering crowd of supporters.
“Very sad thing to watch, a corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty, right in the middle of a presidential election in which he’s losing very badly.”
He went on to accuse Mr Biden and Ms Clinton of corruption.
“Hillary Clinton broke the law and she didn’t get indicted. Joe Biden broke the law – and in many other ways, we’re finding out – and so far has not gotten indicted. I did everything right and they indicted me,” he said.
“I’m not the one who thinks I’m above the law. I’m the one that followed the law. I’m the only one. It’s Joe Biden and his corrupt department of injustice who think they are above the law.”
Mr Smith accuses Mr Trump of risking national secrets by taking thousands of sensitive papers with him when he left the White House in January 2021 and storing them in a haphazard manner at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate and his New Jersey golf club, according to a grand jury indictment released last week.
Photos included in the indictment show boxes of documents stored on a ballroom stage, in a bathroom and strewn across a storage-room floor.
The 37-count indictment alleges Mr Trump lied to officials who tried to get them back.
The indictment also alleges Mr Trump conspired with Mr Nauta to keep classified documents and hide them from a federal grand jury.
Mr Nauta has worked for Trump at the White House and at Mar-a-Lago.
Mr Trump faces charges that include violations of the Espionage Act, which criminalises unauthorised possession of defence information, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Legal experts say prosecutors have a strong case, and Mr Smith has said Mr Trump will have a “speedy” trial.
In his only other public remarks on Mr Trump’s indictment so far, Mr Smith said last week that noted the former president should be presumed innocent until proven guilty and urged Americans to read the indictment for themselves.
“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people,” Mr Smith said.
“Our laws that protect national defence information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”
Experts say the complexities of handling classified evidence and legal manoeuvring by Mr Trump’s lawyers could delay any trial by more than a year.
In the meantime, Mr Trump is free to campaign for the presidency and could take office even if he were to be found guilty.
-with AAP
