WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump appeared Tuesday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Miami, pleading not guilty to 37 felony counts related to mishandling of classified documents.
It was only the second time in American history that an ex-president went to court to answer criminal charges. The first was two months ago, when Trump was indicted in New York on felony charges related to hush money paid to a porn star during the 2016 campaign.
As in Manhattan, most of the the Miami spectacle – the fingerprints, the plea, the judge’s admonishments about avoiding contact with witnesses, the defendant’s scowling asides with lawyers – took place beyond the reach of news cameras.
Federal courts do not allow cameras.
Outside, throngs of supporters and jeering detractors made a remarkable scene, though.
The ex-president’s motorcade left the courthouse just before 4 p.m. in Miami amid tight security.
Trump waved to supporters through the armored glass of his black SUV as he arrived and left.
News helicopters provided live footage, slow speed police chase-style – coverage the Secret Service would never have allowed during his four years in office. They hovered as he arrived at Versailles, a famed Cuban restaurant four miles from court. Supporters and news crews awaited inside.
“It’s a rigged deal,” Trump said there. “We have a rigged country. We have a country that’s corrupt. We have a country that’s got no border. We have a country that’s got nothing but problems... and then they do this stuff.”
Trump’s co-defendant and longtime valet, Waltine “Walt” Nauta, was with him as usual, though by then they’d been ordered not to discuss the case with each other.
What happened at the courthouse?
Trump had proclaimed himself the innocent victim of a “witch hunt” by the shadowy “Deep State,” and there was little doubt he would plead not guilty.
Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman accepted the plea and released the defendant without requiring him to post bail. Trump wasn’t required to turn in his passport, or given any travel restrictions.
A defendant with Trump’s vast wealth and global real estate empire might be considered a flight risk. But, given that he’s the most recognizable American alive, and running for president, and is the leading Republican contender for the nomination, bail was never likely.
For the hour or so Trump was at the courthouse, he was in the hands of a U.S. Marshal he appointed in 2018, Gadyaces Serralta, a former major with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The marshal’s office was expected to take fingerprints but reportedly, no mug shot or DNA sample.
Who’s the judge?
Among the many extraordinary aspects of this prosecution is that Trump’s case has been assigned to a judge he appointed: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
Born in Colombia and raised in Miami by a mom who’d immigrated from Cuba, she’s a former prosecutor who joined the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group that helped guide Trump’s judicial nominations, during her studies at the University of Michigan law school.
The Senate confirmed her on a 56-21 vote a week after Trump lost his reelection bid. Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz supported her, as did most Republicans.
Cannon gained notoriety last year when she temporarily halted FBI access to classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago during a court-approved search. The ruling was struck down by a conservative-leaning appeals court, allowing the investigation that led to Trump’s indictment last week to proceed.
It’s common for magistrates – lower ranking federal judges hired by those with life tenure – to handle routine pre-trial matters, and Cannon wasn’t involved in Tuesday’s procedures.
When will Trump next appear in public?
Trump flew from Miami to New Jersey after court, where he planned to meet with campaign donors at his private club in Bedminster. Cable news showed a lectern set up outside, adorned with a campaign placard, ready for him to deliver remarks.
What about Trump’s co-defendant?
The indictment unsealed Friday includes six felony counts against Nauta, Trump’s longtime valet.
The Justice Department says Nauta, at Trump’s behest, moved boxes containing classified documents to hide them from federal agents as they scoured Mar-a-Lago, then lied repeatedly to investigators.
He also pleaded not guilty.
Could Trump still vote for himself if convicted?
No.
Trump’s voter registration is in Florida, where he resides at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
Under Florida law, convicted felons lose the right to vote. That right is automatically restored once a sentence is completed, except for murderers and rapists.
Convicted felons can also apply for clemency to have their voting rights restored. That would be up to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s chief rival for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Could Trump be disqualified from serving as president again?
No. The Constitution has only three prerequisites for serving as president. Trump checks all the boxes:
— He is a natural born citizen of the United States. (Born in New York City.)
— He is at least 35 years old. (He turns 77 on Wednesday.)
— He has resided in the United States for 14 years.
His impeachment trials did put his right to hold office at risk, but the Senate acquitted him both times.
A handful of federal crimes do disqualify someone from becoming president. That includes sedition – trying to use force to overthrow the government.
So far, the Justice Department has won 10 sedition convictions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and four more defendants have pleaded guilty to that crime. All belonged to the Oath Keepers militia or the rightwing Proud Boys.
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes received 18 years behind bars over his role in the storming of the Capitol.
For them, any White House aspirations are over under the obscure “disqualification clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment – designed to keep former Confederate officials out of power after the Civil War.
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Early in the investigation, legal experts speculated that Trump could be charged under a particular provision of the Espionage Statute (18 U.S. Code § 2071). That provision makes it a crime to conceal, falsify or destroy government documents – classified or not.
It carries a three-year prison term and says the defendant “shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.”
But Trump was not charged under that provision.
Even if he’s convicted of all 37 counts in the indictment unsealed Friday, Trump cannot be barred from running for president or taking office.
Could Trump pardon himself?
Almost certainly.
Under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, “The President… shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
There’s no prohibition against a self-pardon, though this is uncharted territory because no president – or ex-president – has faced criminal charges before.
But the power extends only to federal crimes. Trump was indicted two months ago under New York state law on 34 felony counts of falsifying records, stemming from hush money paid to an adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 campaign.
Only the governor could issue a pardon for those crimes, and New York hasn’t had a Republican governor since 2006.
That said, a conviction in Manhattan wouldn’t legally preclude Trump from being on the ballot, taking office or serving as president. Whether that would be done from behind bars is anyone’s guess at this point.
