Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in Florida federal court Tuesday afternoon to be arraigned for allegedly refusing to return classified documents to federal authorities after he left the White House.
Trump was already the first former president to face criminal charges and is now the first to face federal charges. An indictment unsealed Friday alleges Trump, with the help of his body man Walt Nauta, flouted a subpoena requiring him to surrender highly sensitive documents that he kept in unsecured locations at his Mar-a-Lago residence — and that the men concealed this from federal officials as well as Trump’s own attorneys. The documents allegedly contained national defense information, including plans to attack an unidentified foreign country, and US nuclear weapons capabilities.
Trump was charged with a total of 37 counts, including willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act, making false statements and representations, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, and scheming to conceal.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon, whom Trump appointed in 2019, is reportedly overseeing the case for now. She was previously appointed as a special master to examine the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago last year and was criticized for delivering Trump several perplexing wins in those proceedings.
In the days since his indictment, Trump has indicated on his social network Truth Social that he intends to fight the charges, calling them the product of a political “witch hunt” and an attempt to interfere with the 2024 election. He is assembling a new legal team, reportedly headed by Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. But it’s unclear whether he’s secured local counsel licensed to practice in Florida.
Here’s everything else you need to know about Trump’s second arraignment.
Trump will reportedly show up at the Miami federal courthouse at 3 pm ET. His arraignment is expected to follow a similar pattern to his April arraignment in New York in a separate case concerning hush money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. In April, Trump was fingerprinted but not put in handcuffs and did not have his mugshot taken. He was allowed to return home following his arraignment in New York and is unlikely to be jailed this time.
Following his arraignment in Miami, the former president plans to return to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to make public remarks. He similarly made public remarks following his April indictment, raising grievances against the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and people involved in other investigations against him.
Trump is also scheduled to hold a fundraiser at his golf club in the evening that is expected to bring in $2 million, Politico reported. That’s a hefty sum, but not an unreasonable target given that he also saw a surge in campaign donations following his first indictment. Ninety percent of Tuesday night’s proceeds are expected to go to Trump’s reelection effort, with the remainder taken to help with his growing legal fees.
In a radio interview Sunday, Trump called for his supporters to protest. Federal and local authorities are preparing for the possibility, ramping up their capacity in Miami and reportedly prohibiting police officers from taking the day off. The courthouse perimeter has been roped off and surrounded with barricades.
Some far-right groups and figures have been calling for protests around the courthouse. That includes a local chapter of the Proud Boys, a militia group whose leaders were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who has refused to acknowledge her 2022 election loss, has also planned a pro-Trump rally at a hotel in Palm Beach Monday night. At the Georgia Republican convention Saturday, Lake suggested she — and many other Republicans who are members of the National Rifle Association — would be ready to meet any Trump detractors planning a counter-demonstration.
“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” she told the crowd.
Jack Smith, a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department in November to investigate the case, said in a press conference Friday that he intended to pursue a “speedy trial.” But as with the case against him in New York, the Florida court case could extend well into the 2024 campaign season or even beyond the election.
If convicted, Trump could face prison time. Each count related to Espionage Act violations alone could carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years. For the conspiracy and false statements charges, it’s five years per offense; for the obstruction charges, it’s 20.
