Former president Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he hoarded classified documents detailing sensitive military secrets and schemed to thwart government efforts to get them back.
Trump appeared before a judge in Miami’s federal courthouse on Tuesday in a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.
We’re gathering the latest updates, news, and analysis. Follow along live.
Read more:
- Read the indictment
- Here are the 37 charges against Donald Trump and what they mean
- A timeline of key events leading up to the indictment
- Read all of our coverage on the case
Trump leaves Miami courthouse, stops at Cuban restaurant — 4:36 p.m.
Amazon Web Services on Tuesday afternoon experienced an outage, which affected digital publishing operations at the Globe starting around 2:45 p.m. EDT. During that time:
- Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges against him
- A judge ordered Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, not to discuss the case
- Trump left the courthouse in Miami
- Trump stopped at a Cuban restaurant in Miami, where he took photographs with supporters
Read more coverage of Trump’s arraignment.
Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges — 3:16 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he hoarded classified documents detailing sensitive military secrets and schemed to thwart government efforts to get them back.
Trump appeared before a judge in Miami’s federal courthouse on Tuesday in a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.
Authorities say Trump schemed and lied to block the government from recovering the documents concerning nuclear programs and other sensitive military secrets stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases and slammed the prosecutions as politically motivated. He’s expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.
Special Counsel Jack Smith reportedly attending arraignment — 2:56 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Special Counsel Jack Smith is also present in the courtroom to attend Trump’s arraignment, according to CNN.
Trump enters Miami courtroom for arraignment — 2:50 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Former president Donald Trump has entered the courtroom for his court appearance.
A look at the 37 charges Trump is facing and what they mean — 2:46 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Here’s what we know about the charges against the former president, brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Trump rode to court with his son Eric — 2:35 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump rode to court with his son Eric, who accompanied the motorcade from the former president’s Doral resort to the federal courthouse in Miami.
CNN aired footage of Trump walking to a line of SUVs with his son by his side while someone yelled, “Let’s go Trump!”
Former President Donald Trump is headed to a federal courthouse in Miami for his arraignment in the classified documents case.
— CNN (@CNN) June 13, 2023
Follow live updates and watch CNN. https://t.co/WHad0yx4Ma pic.twitter.com/AdsWvBrNHb
The former president could be seen stopping and waving at supporters, as well as chatting with staff members. Eric Trump appeared to clap his father on the back just before he climbed in a vehicle.
As he rode to court, Trump posted on his social media site that the case against him was a “witch hunt.”
Later, outside the courthouse Trump lawyer Alina Habba said, “Today is not about President Donald J. Trump, who is defiant.”
“It is not about the Republican Party, it is not about the 2024 election,” Habba added. “It is about the destruction of longstanding principles that have set this country apart.”
Trump and aide have been booked in Miami federal court — 2:23 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump and an aide charged as a co-conspirator have been booked in Miami federal court.
That’s according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which said Trump and Walt Nauta had been booked shortly after they arrived Tuesday afternoon.
Both men are expected to appear at the defense table shortly on charges that they wrongly held onto classified documents.
The two men were seen arriving at court together.
Scenes from outside the courthouse as Trump arrived — 2:14 p.m.
Trump’s personal aide will appear in court with him — 2:10 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump was to appear alongside his valet Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the case.
Trump and Nauta are expected to enter not guilty pleas in the case, and both sides will discuss any potential conditions of bail, which could include an order to surrender the former president’s passport.
What happens next in Trump’s court appearance — 2:02 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump surrendered to federal authorities ahead of a hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. in federal court in Miami. He traveled to court from his Doral golf resort in a motorcade.
Unlike his arraignment in New York, there won’t be photographs from the courtroom because cameras aren’t allowed in federal court. There may, however, be sketch artists, and theirs would be the only images from the actual courtroom appearance.
There’s also a prohibition on reporters bringing electronic devices into the courthouse, so there won’t be live updates by tweet or text. That rule is usually up to to each federal judge, but an order has been issued in this case specifically imposing restrictions for Trump’s initial hearing.
Trump was not expected to be subjected to a mugshot photo ahead of the federal court appearance because authorities have enough photos of him in their identification system. That’s according to a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, who said that Trump’s digital fingerprints would be taken and his birthdate and Social Security number recorded.
Trump arrives at federal court in Miami — 1:54 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump has arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami to formally surrender to authorities ahead of his court appearance on charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Former President Donald Trump arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami to formally surrender ahead of his court appearance on charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. pic.twitter.com/xHiGGfLcAJ
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 13, 2023
Trump’s motorcade arrived Tuesday afternoon at the courthouse shortly before he’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge, a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.
Who will represent Trump at his arraignment? — 1:46 p.m.
By the Associated Press
He was expected to be represented at his arraignment by Todd Blanche, an attorney also defending him in the New York case, and Florida lawyer Chris Kise, who joined Trump’s stable of attorneys last year. Under the rules of the district, defendants are required to have a local lawyer for an arraignment to proceed.
Some Republicans break with Trump ahead of his arraignment — 1:40 p.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
While Trump has plenty of defenders in the GOP, there are Republican lawmakers who have backed up the seriousness of the indictment.
Colorado Representative Ken Buck called the indictment “very serious” on CNN. Representative Don Bacon, a moderate Republican from Nebraska, told Axios, “I think it’s obvious what the president did was wrong.” Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said armed services committee members such as himself “recognize just how serious it is to have those documents out where they can be obtained by other people. We can’t walk away from that.”
But Rounds joined many Republicans, including those who criticize Trump, who referenced different situations with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and President Biden to imply the Justice Department was picking and choosing prosecutions.
Trump leaves Doral club to head to federal court in Miami — 1:33 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Former president Donald Trump left his golf club in Doral, Fla., to head to federal court in Miami, where he’ll appear before a judge on federal criminal charges.
Biden is determined to say as little as possible about Trump’s indictment — 1:12 p.m.
By the Associated Press
It’s rare for the leader of the free world to be rendered silent, but President Biden is clearly determined to say as little as possible about his predecessor Donald Trump’s federal indictment.
Biden’s White House dodges questions about the matter. His campaign doesn’t respond to them. And Biden himself wants nothing to do with it. “I have no comment on what happened,” he told reporters Friday while in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
The reticence reflects the precarious and unprecedented situation in which Biden finds himself: Just as Trump is the first former president to be charged by the federal government, Biden is the first incumbent to have his own administration indict his chief political rival.
Trump supporters bused in from other parts of Florida — 12:43 p.m.
By the Associated Press
In an Orlando Walmart parking lot, about four dozen Trump supporters dressed in red, white and blue clothing boarded two buses for the four-hour trip to Miami to show their support outside the federal courthouse where the former president would be appearing.
Some wore T-shirts that read “Donald Trump Did Nothing Wrong” and hats stenciled with “Because America Can Never Be Too Great.”
“He has done so much for us. This what we can do for him. This is what we must do for him,” said Laurie Pettengill, who drove halfway across the state from Homosassa Springs on Florida’s Gulf Coast to go on the trip.
Miriam Ramirez carried a sign adorned with small American flags that said, “Puerto Republican Assembly Present for Trump!” She said the federal charges were a continuation of prosecutorial harassment that Trump has faced for years.
“This has been going on ever since he became president,” Ramirez said.
The trip was organized a grassroots group called the Florida Republican Assembly, which had originally envisioned four buses making the journey but settled for just two.
As the Trump supporters boarded the buses, a lone woman, Danette Chialtas, shouted at them, calling them traitors for supporting Trump.
“He’s being tried on espionage charges, and they are enabling it,” Chialtas said, pointing to the buses.
Trump will be digitally fingerprinted — 12:16 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump will be digitally fingerprinted and have his birthdate and Social Security number taken as part of the booking process Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Miami, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service says.
The spokesman said the former president will forgo a mugshot because enough photos of him already exist in the system — confirming what a person familiar with negotiations around the proceedings said earlier.
The spokesman said that booking could take place before Trump appears in court or afterward, depending on when he arrives. He said authorities did not plan to immediately alert the media once Trump had arrived.
Outside the courthouse, meanwhile, police cleared an area where media covering the event had set up tents. They brought in sniffer dogs to search for anything suspicious but planned to allow journalists back into the area once the search was complete.
2024 campaign trail mostly quiet as attention shifts (back) to Trump — 11:47 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump’s 2024 Republican presidential rivals were largely refraining from public campaign events as the political world’s attention shifted to the former president’s appearance in federal court in Miami.
Speaking Tuesday morning outside the courthouse where Trump will be arraigned, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy reiterated his commitment to pardoning Trump if elected to the White House. The wealthy biotech entrepreneur also announced that he’d given every 2024 presidential challenger signed commitment letters asking them to join him in the pledge.
Other Republican presidential hopefuls, including Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, planned fundraisers and media appearances while forgoing campaign events. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott was heading to Iowa for a town hall event later in the week but had no public events scheduled for Tuesday.
Trump is the Republican White House primary’s early front-runner. When he appeared in court in April on a separate criminal case involving alleged hush money payments, the attention was intense, dominating media coverage for days.
No Trump mugshot expected — 11:36 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump is not expected to have a mugshot taken when he surrenders to authorities in federal court in Miami to face charges related to mishandling classified documents.
That’s according to a person familiar with negotiations surrounding the case who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the details of the proceedings.
Having no picture taken is similar to Trump’s recent appearance in court in New York on a separate case involving hush money payments, when the former president also avoided having his mug shot taken.
Trump supporters and detractors gather outside courthouse — 11:24 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump wasn’t due in court in Miami for hours, but both his supporters and detractors were already gathering outside.
Jack Kaplan said he drove two hours from Fort Pierce, where the judge assigned to the case is based, to counter the large number of Trump supporters who had already started showing up outside the federal courthouse in Miami.
Toting a copy of the indictment affixed to a clipboard and a sign reading “Trump is Toast,” the 68-year-old retired car dealer said he’ll celebrate with a $1,400 bottle of Mouton Rothschild red wine if the former president goes to prison.
“I’ve already get the bottle sitting in my wine cooler,” said Kaplan as a Trump supporter carrying a sign reading “Keep America Great” walked by coolly. “I’m going to have a big party.”
‘I just love that guy’: In New Hampshire, first-in-the-nation voters not swayed by latest Trump indictment — 11:18 a.m.
By Samantha J. Gross, Globe Staff
Even the astonishing array of crimes alleged in the latest indictment — including alleged efforts to hide classified information from federal investigators — did not dissuade Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters in New Hampshire. For some of them, it solidified their support.
“I’m gonna cast the vote for Trump because of it,” said 59-year-old Manchester resident Richard Olsen, who attended the Milford event with a handgun tucked in a holster belt. “And I want to see more candidates condemning what happened.”
What to expect when Donald Trump appears in federal court in Miami to face felony charges — 10:31 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Donald Trump makes his first appearance in a Miami federal court on Tuesday facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to be in possession of classified documents.
Trump tells Howie Carr he’s pleading not guilty to federal charges in radio interview — 10:16 a.m.
By Breanne Kovatch, Globe Correspondent
Former president Donald Trump told radio host Howie Carr on the eve of his federal court appearance in Miami on Tuesday that he will plead not guilty to the more than three dozen felony charges surrounding his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
“Honestly, it’s a disgrace to our country,” Trump said of his federal indictment on Carr’s WRKO show Monday evening. “The whole world is laughing.”
‘You’re running against a guy with 37 indictments against him’: GOP is torn on how to react to Trump — 9:27 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
So far, the Republican Party’s response to the allegations against Trump has been decidedly mixed. The unprecedented prosecution, a case legal experts have described as strong, has given some Republican leaders and pundits pause about Trump’s electoral prospects. Some have condemned him publicly, while others have chosen not to come to his defense.
At the same time, the indictment has failed to sway Trump’s most ardent supporters, who in response have promoted conspiratorial claims, charges of political double standards, and violent rhetoric, including cries for a “civil war.”
‘We are getting pretty good at this’: Trump and aides plot indictment response — 9:50 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Former president Donald Trump was ready Thursday night when he got the call saying he had been indicted by the Justice Department.
He had already shot a defiant video, in front of a mustache-twirling print of Teddy Roosevelt’s portrait, denouncing charges that had not yet been filed against him. His team had pushed out an ad that tarred special counsel Jack Smith “as a tainted radical-left prosecutor” deployed by a “pack of rabid wolves.”
He dictated a Truth Social post within minutes at his Bedminster Club in New Jersey, and his team began pushing out premade content and reposting the chorus of Republican leaders coming to his defense by attacking federal prosecutors.
But those first hours proved to be the easy part, one of the last moments in an unprecedented legal drama that gave him full control over his own fate. By midday Friday, the order had begun to slip away. His legal team had crumbled and supporters of his 2024 rivals inside the party started to express optimism that this time would be different from the April indictment he had received from a New York prosecutor in connection with hush money he allegedly paid to an adult-film star.
Prosecutors in classified documents case against Trump face hurdles, legal experts say — 7:32 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
The classified documents case against Donald Trump unveiled Friday is full of seemingly damning evidence but is by no means a slam dunk for the Justice Department as it prepares for an unprecedented prosecution of a former president, legal experts said Friday.
Legal experts say indictment shows Trump knowingly broke the law — 7:08 p.m.
By John R. Ellement and Nick Stoico, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent
Legal experts said the details outlined in the indictment show Trump was intentional in keeping the material and knowingly broke the law.
“Trump did not mishandle documents, as some of his allies suggest, but, as detailed in the indictment, he deliberately took national security documents, stored them in public places (sometimes), misled investigators and prosecutors, and lied about what he was doing,” Michael J. Gerhardt, the Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at University of North Carolina Law School, said by e-mail Friday afternoon.
“The details in the indictment underscore just how aberrant his conduct has been from other presidents. The difficulty Trump faces is that his misconduct was so clearly criminal – and unashamedly so.”
The government’s ‘most sensitive’ documents, and other key passages — 5:40 p.m.
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
The following passages lay out the importance of the sensitive documents Trump kept after leaving office in 2021, and sketch out some of the actions he allegedly took to retain them. They conclude with a remarkable recorded exchange in which Trump, in a July 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, allegedly acknowledges he is in possession of a secret document.
What will happen when Trump appears in court on Tuesday? — 5:04 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Trump will be brought before a federal judge and may be asked to enter a plea at a formal arraignment. A judge will set release conditions after hearing from prosecutors and the defense. Through his lawyers, Trump might have to promise to show up at future proceedings, not violate any laws, and to abide by possible travel restrictions or notification requirements.
Who is Walt Nauta, Trump aide who was also indicted? — 4:38 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
Walt Nauta, Trump’s former White House valet who left to become an aide at Mar-a-Lago, has been named as a co-conspirator with the former president. Nauta’s lawyer Stanley Woodward declined to comment.
The indictment says that Nauta was directed by Trump to “move boxes of documents to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI and the grand jury.” Nauta was also one of the aides that packed the documents as Trump was leaving the White House, according the the filing.
The court filling includes pictures taken by Nauta of the boxes of documents in a Mar-a-Lago ballroom and documents spilled across the floor of a storage room.
Nauta served as Trump’s military valet in the White House and continued working for Trump after he left office, making him a central figure in the classified documents probe. Nauta was questioned multiple times by investigators about the role he played moving boxes of documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to earlier reports by the Washington Post.
Secret Service prepares for Trump’s court appearance — 4:10 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The US Secret Service is preparing for Trump’s appearance at a federal court in Miami on Tuesday after a grand jury indicted him on 37 felony counts related to his handling of classified documents.
Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency “will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former Presidents continued safety” in connection with Trump’s appearance.
He added: “As with any site visited by a protectee, the Secret Service is in constant coordination with the necessary entities to ensure protective requirements are met. We have the utmost confidence in the professionalism and commitment to security shared by our law enforcement partners in Florida.”
Trump’s April 4 arraignment in his New York case, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, attracted a crush of media and protesters, involved multiple street closures, extra security screenings and shut down non-Trump court business for an afternoon.
On day indictment is unsealed, Trump golfs — 3:55 p.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
On the day his indictment was unsealed, Trump posed for a picture while golfing with a Florida Republican congressman, Carlos Gimenez. The former president wore his signature red cap and flashed a grin and a thumbs up.
Tee Time With Trump! 🇺🇸 https://t.co/kYXgEtiTWI pic.twitter.com/kQg5iCssJm
— Carlos A. Gimenez (@CarlosGimenezFL) June 9, 2023
Indictment states maximum possible terms of imprisonment if Trump is convicted — 3:46 p.m.
By The Washington Post
The unsealed indictment included a sheet specifying maximum possible terms of imprisonment if Trump were to be convicted.
The 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information each carry a maximum prison term of 10 years. The one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. Rarely are people sentenced to the maximum terms.
A breakdown of the counts Trump is charged with — 3:35 p.m.
By The Washington Post
The bulk of the charges in the 49-page indictment relate to willful retention of national defense information — a violation of the Espionage Act that pertains to whether individuals broke the rules for the handling of classified documents. The charges also include conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in an investigation, scheming to conceal, and false statements.
Here’s a look at the charges :
- Willful retention of national defense information: 31 counts
- Withholding or concealing documents in a federal investigation: 3 counts
- False statements: 2 counts
- Conspiracy to obstruct justice: 1 count
Mass. lawmakers weigh in on Trump indictment — 3:22 p.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
As the details of the charges against Trump became public on Friday, members of Congress began to weigh in.
Massachusetts’ lawmakers, all Democrats, emphasized the importance of letting the justice system do its work impartially.
Salem Representative Seth Moulton, a decorated Marine veteran, noted in a statement the “solemn responsibility” of presidents to guard the nation’s most closely held secrets.
“The former President is charged with not only failing to safeguard critical information, but knowingly abusing it,” Moulton said. “If proven guilty, this misuse of classified information would be an unprecedented breach of the law.”
Westford Representative Lori Trahan praised the integrity of prosecutors.
“The findings as laid out in the charging document imply a stunning lack of responsibility by the former president at best, and a malicious intent to violate our nation’s laws by jeopardizing highly classified information at worst,” Trahan said in a statement.
‘We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,’ special counsel says — 3:08 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Special counsel Jack Smith, who oversaw the investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, said the nation’s laws “apply to everyone” as he addressed the 37-count felony indictment that was unsealed on Friday afternoon.
“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” Smith said. “Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”
WATCH: Complete statement from Special Counsel Jack Smith: "Today an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice." pic.twitter.com/llUlrvpVe4
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 9, 2023
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” Smith continued.
“Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice and our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world,” Smith said.
Smith said that prosecutors would seek a speedy trial.
Biden says he hasn’t spoken with Merrick Garland — 3:03 p.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
At the end of President Biden’s remarks on manufacturing in North Carolina, the president was asked if he has spoken to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
”I have not spoken to him at all and I’m not going to speak with him. And I have no comment on that,” Biden replied, according to the press pool.
See photos of the boxes with classified documents in Mar-a-Lago — 2:54 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Multiple photos in the indictment against former president Donald Trump, show boxes of records in a storage room, a bathroom, a shower, and a ballroom at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Special counsel overseeing case to speak soon. Watch live. — 2:50 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, is speaking Friday afternoon on the indictment of the former president.
Lawyer said Trump suggested he remove damaging documents, indictment shows — 2:45 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The indictment unsealed Friday also says that, unaware of any records being moved, Trump’s attorney on June 2, 2022, identified 38 documents with “classified” markings and placed them in a folder, which he sealed with clear duct tape handed to him by Trump valet Walt Nauta. The valet then took the attorney to see the former president.
“Did you find anything? Is it bad? ... Is it good?” Trump asked his lawyer.
The attorney told federal authorities that he discussed the folder of classified material with Trump and how the material should be handled. The attorney told authorities that as they discussed the attorney taking the materials with him, Trump gestured in a way that suggested he wanted the attorney to identify “anything really bad” and “you know, pluck it out.” The lawyer clarified that Trump did not articulate such instructions beyond making that “plucking motion.”
The attorney told authorities that he did not take anything out of the folder and that he instead immediately contacted the FBI and another Trump attorney. On June 3, according to the indictment, the second Trump attorney acted as the official custodian of records on Trump’s behalf and turned the material to the FBI.
FBI interview excerpts released by House Judiciary Committee Democrats add insight to indictment — 2:36 p.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Friday released excerpts of an interview with an FBI official that they said took place Wednesday. The interview excerpts add insight to the indictment unsealed Friday afternoon.
In the interview, former Assistant Director of the FBI Field Office Steven D’Antuono told the committee that the documents at the center of the charges against Trump were so sensitive, he didn’t look at them because he wasn’t sure his “top secret” security clearance would be enough to view them.
The excerpts also indicate that former President Trump was physically present at Mar-a-Lago with his attorney when she certified to federal officials that all documents had been turned over, though they had not.
The interview with D’Antuono had been at the request of the Republican chair of the committee, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, the Democratic release said.
Valet moved boxes ‘at Trump’s direction,’ indictment alleges — 2:29 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The indictment alleges that Trump valet Walt Nauta acted “at Trump’s direction” to move “approximately 64 boxes” of documents from the Mar-a-Lago storage room to the former president’s residence. Nauta’s actions occurred between May 23, 2022, and June 2, 2022, according to the indictment.
That total includes “approximately 30 boxes” Nauta allegedly moved on June 2, the same day Trump’s legal team was expected to examine the cache. Nauta’s actions that day came hours after he talked briefly via phone with Trump, prosecutors allege. Neither Trump nor Nauta, according to the indictment, disclosed to the former president’s attorneys that Nauta had moved any of the storage room contents.
According to prosecutors’ timeline, Trump met later that day with one of his attorneys and Nauta escorted the attorney to the storage room for his review of the documents.
Indictment alleges Trump shared Pentagon ‘plan of attack’ and classified map — 2:25 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The indictment unsealed Friday outlined two circumstances in which Trump allegedly showed the documents to others.
One occurred in a meeting with a writer at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he described federal officials’ “plan of attack” against him and purportedly acknowledging that he knew the information “is still a secret.”
In a later meeting with a representative from his political action committee, Trump displayed “a classified map related to a military operation,” acknowledging he “should not be showing it to the representative and that the representative should not get too close,” prosecutors said.
In the next paragraph, prosecutors note how Trump, at a press conference while president in 2017, addressed media leaks and said that leaking classified information is “an illegal process” and that people involved “should be ashamed of themselves.”
Indictment cites Trump’s 2016 statements on classified information — 2:16 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
The indictment included five public statements Trump made during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he had made a major issue of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified emails while serving as secretary of state.
”In my administration, I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law,” Trump said on Aug. 18, 2016, according to the indictment.
Less than a month later, on Sept. 6, 2016, Trump said, “We can’t have someone in the Oval Office who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified.”
The indictment also said Trump made a statement about classified information as president on July 26, 2018 that concluded: “Any access granted to our Nation’s secrets should be in furtherance of national, not personal, interests.”
Boxes of classified information stored in a shower, ballroom, indictment alleges — 2:09 p.m.
By Jackie Kucinich, Globe Staff
The 49-page indictment contained eye-popping details about the journey Trump’s post-presidency boxes, some which contained highly classified information, made through his Florida club.
From January to mid-March 2021, they were stacked on a stage in a Mar-a-Lago ballroom where, the indictment noted, “events and gatherings took place.”
In the weeks after March 15, 2021, some of the boxes were shuttled to a business center, to a bathroom and a shower in Mar-a-Lago’s Lake Room and finally to a storage room.
But even the storage room, which came to house 80 of Trump’s boxes, wasn’t secure. The indictment said the room, “could be reached from multiple outside entrances, including one accessible from The Mar-a-Lago Club pool patio through a doorway that was often kept open.”
Trump facing 37 felony charges, indictment shows — 2:03 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Former President Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents.
That’s according to an indictment unsealed Friday that also alleges that he described a Pentagon “plan of attack” and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
Charged alongside with Trump was Walt Nauta, a Trump aide who was seen on surveillance camera removing boxes at Mar-a-Lago.
The indictment accuses Trump of having improperly removed scores of boxes from the White House to take them to Mar-a-Lago, many of them containing classified information.
Read the unsealed indictment — 1:56 p.m.
Read the federal indictment here.
Trump indictment unsealed in case involving mishandling of classified information — 1:47 p.m.
By the Associated Press
An indictment charging former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents has been unsealed.
The document marks the Justice Department’s first official confirmation of a criminal case against Trump arising from the retention of hundreds of documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
What’s next in the case? — 1:22 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump said he’d been summoned to appear in court Tuesday in Miami. It wasn’t immediately clear what the procedure would look like.
When he was charged by the Manhattan district attorney in the New York case, Trump surrendered to authorities, where he was booked behind closed doors and appeared in the courtroom, sitting with his lawyers at the defense table.
Trump still set to appear at campaign event in Georgia Saturday — 1:07 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Georgia’s state Republican convention gets underway Friday with Donald Trump still expected on Saturday.
Trump could feed an air of vengeance after announcing Thursday that he’s been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents, overshadowing party business and speakers including Republican presidential candidates Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump said he faces a court appearance in Florida next week in the documents case as he continues to be under investigation elsewhere, including Georgia. An Atlanta-based prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, is investigating whether Trump illegally interfered in the 2020 election and has suggested charging decisions will come in August.
Trump can still run for president in 2024 after being indicted twice — 12:52 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Donald Trump is the first former president to be charged with a crime after leaving office. But that doesn’t prevent him from continuing his campaign to return to the White House as president after the 2024 elections.
Even a guilty verdict in either of the cases pending against him would not disqualify Trump’s bid for office, according to Anna G. Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School, or keep him from serving if he were elected.
“There are actually not that many constitutional requirements to run for president,” Cominsky said. “There is not an explicit prohibition in the Constitution in respects to having a pending indictment or even being convicted.”
The Constitution includes three requirements to run for president: A candidate must be at least 35 years old, be a “natural born” U.S. citizen and have resided in the United States for at least 14 years.
Beyond that, there are few restrictions to holding the presidency - or any lower elected office.
Lawyer from Trump’s N.Y. criminal case will now represent him in documents case — 12:38 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump says he has picked a lawyer from his New York criminal case to represent him in his newly indicted federal classified documents case.
Trump posted Friday on his Truth Social platform that Todd Blanche will lead his defense in the federal case, along with “a firm to be named later,” replacing his previous lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley.
Blanche, a respected white-collar defense lawyer, joined Trump’s legal team just before his New York indictment in March. Before that, he was a partner at the firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. He’s also been a federal prosecutor in New York.
Blanche sat by Trump’s side at his Mar-a-Lago estate during a recent video hearing in the New York case and is spearheading efforts to get that matter moved from state court to federal court.
Blanche previously represented former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in getting state mortgage fraud charges thrown out on double jeopardy grounds, arguing the New York case was too similar to one that landed Manafort in federal prison.
Trump says valet Walt Nauta, who moved boxes at Mar-a-Lago, was also indicted — 12:23 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Federal authorities have charged a longtime aide to Donald Trump whose responsibilities included moving and carrying cardboard boxes in which the former president kept mementos and papers, Trump announced on social media Friday.
Prosecutors have viewed Nauta - a military valet in the Trump White House and now a personal aide to Trump - as a critical witness in the investigation into possible mishandling of classified government materials at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida residence and private club.
Trump advisers also said Nauta had been charged. A lawyer for Nauta declined to comment.
The indictment remained under seal Friday, and the exact charges were not yet clear.
Law professors, historians react to Trump’s federal indictment — 12:16 p.m.
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Many historians and legal scholars agreed that the indictment was an affirmation of a fundamental principle of the nation’s criminal justice system — the law applies equally to all — and not an act of political retaliation by the Biden administration.
Some noted that the criminal case is rooted in the effort by the National Archives to enforce the Presidential Records Act and its mandate that documents generated during a presidency belongs not to the individual, but the nation.
Two of Trump’s top lawyers resign following his indictment — 12:05 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Jim Trusty and John Rowley resigned from Donald Trump’s legal team on Friday after the former president was indicted on federal charges in the classified documents investigation.
”This morning we tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation,” Trusty and Rowley said in a joint statement.
Trusty and Rowley called it “an honor to have spent the last year defending” Trump and chalked up their decision to leave the legal team to the case being filed in Miami.
But CNN host Kaitlan Collins tweeted the decision “was not planned as of yesterday.” Trusty appeared on CNN Thursday night defending Trump and “detailing charges against him.”
Trump said on Truth Social he will now be represented by Todd Blanche “and a firm to be named later.”
White House stays quiet on Trump indictment — 12:02 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The White House is staying mum on the Trump indictment, emphasizing the independence of the Justice Department, as it seeks to combat criticism from Republicans that President Joe Biden’s administration is targeting his chief 2024 rival.
“We are just not going to comment on this case,” White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters Friday on Air Force One, “and I’d refer you to the DOJ, which runs its criminal investigations independently.”
She added: “This is a president who respects the rule of law and has said that since day one. That’s precisely why we’re not commenting here. He believes in respecting the independence of the DOJ and protecting the integrity of their processes.”
Dalton said Biden and his staff “found out just like everybody else last night” that Trump was indicted from news reports and that the White House had “no advanced knowledge that this was coming.”
Asked whether the White House was preparing for any unrest as a result of Trump’s indictment, Dalton said “we’re always prepared” but declined to share any specifics or whether any outreach had been made to state and local officials in Florida.
‘This is not how justice should be pursued in our country,’ Nikki Haley says — 11:54 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Nikki Haley, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, said in a statement that Americans are exhausted by “prosecutorial overreach.”
“This is not how justice should be pursued in our country,” said Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor. “It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions.”
‘Every American is innocent until proven guilty,’ Mike Pence says — 11:48 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Former vice president Mike Pence, who launched his bid for the presidency earlier this week, said on Friday morning while he was “deeply troubled” to see the indictment against Donald Trump move forward, “no one is above the law.”
While speaking with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Pence also raised his own case of handling classified materials. When he had his records examined, Pence said they found that classified documents had made “their way back” into his personal records and he collaborated with the Justice Department.
“I’m pleased the Justice Department concluded that investigation last week, found that it was an innocent mistake. But it was a mistake,” Pence said. “We have to protect our nation’s secrets.”
Pence said he believes the indictment of Trump will “be terribly divisive for the country” and that it sends a “terrible message to the wider world that looks at America as a standard of not only democracy, but of justice.”
Pence also called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to “immediately move to unseal the indictment” and “bring the facts forward to the American people” as soon as possible.
Some N.H. GOP voters shrug off Trump’s indictment — 11:41 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Some Republican voters who will get the chance to support Trump in next year’s GOP presidential primary are shrugging off the potential impact of the former president’s indictment — even as it continues to send shockwaves through the rest of the political world.
“Voters seem not to care about the indictment and will support him regardless,” said Valerie McDonnell, a New Hampshire state representative from Salem who was waiting to see Mike Pence make a campaign stop Friday in Derry, New Hampshire.
“From speaking to my constituents, they seem not to care about that,” she added.
Echoing that sentiment was Ken Hepworth, an independent voter from Derry who also was waiting to see Pence.
“I always think of the statement he made a few years back that, if he had killed somebody in the middle of Times Square, he wouldn’t lose any supporters,” Hepworth said. “I think he could be in jail and people would still vote for him, I don’t think that makes a difference.”
Trump could be asked to wear an ankle monitor following indictment, legal analyst says — 11:36 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Following his latest indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents, federal prosecutors may ask Donald Trump to wear an ankle monitor, a former federal prosecutor said.
Joyce Vance, a legal analyst who served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said she does not expect that the former president will be detained pending trial on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Rule” late Thursday.
That is a “calculus based on whether or not he is a flight risk or danger to the community,” which Vance said Trump is not “in the sense that federal judges understand that prong of the test to work.”
But Trump, who Vance said is likely to be released on his own recognizance “or perhaps with an appropriate bond,” may be asked to wear an ankle monitor “or engage in some other forms of monitoring pending trial.”
Trump case assigned to judge who halted FBI access to some seized documents last year — 11:25 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The federal case against Trump has been initially assigned to a judge he appointed who faced criticism over her decision to grant the former president’s request for an independent arbiter to review documents obtained during an FBI search of his Florida estate.
The Associated Press reported that the case has been assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, a former federal prosecutor who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2020 and sits in Fort Pierce.
Cannon’s profile was thrust into the spotlight when she issued what many legal experts saw as an extraordinary decision to approve a so-called special master to review the documents seized by the FBI.
Some experts said the judge gave undue deference to the former president and put a hold on some Justice Department investigative work unnecessarily. As part of that case, Cannon temporarily barred federal agents and prosecutors from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during the search.
Her order was ultimately thrown out by a federal appeals court, which found she overstepped. The federal appeals court ended the independent review of documents.
‘Trump brought these charges upon himself,’ Mitt Romney says — 11:17 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, a longtime critic of Donald Trump, again broke with many in the Republican Party on Friday by issuing a statement condemning the former president for his actions following Trump’s indictment.
”Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified document, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so,” said Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.
While Romney said Trump is “entitled to the presumption of innocence,” he noted that it appeared as though the Justice Department and special counsel “have exercised due care” and given Trump ample time to “avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others.”
Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel who charged Trump? — 11:08 a.m.
By The Washington Post
Jack Smith, 54, is a longtime federal prosecutor and seasoned investigator. He is a former career Justice Department prosecutor who has also headed the department’s Public Integrity Section. To take the job as special counsel, Smith resigned as chief prosecutor for a special court in The Hague that was investigating war crimes in Kosovo.
He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oneonta and Harvard Law School.
Smith was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Nov. 18 to take charge of the Mar-a-Lago documents case after Trump announced he was running for president the same month.
As special counsel, Smith still briefs top Justice Department officials on his investigation, but he works far more independently than a Justice Department prosecutor would. And if Garland were to overrule a decision by Smith, he would have to issue a written report explaining his actions.
When appointed by Garland, Smith promised to conduct the investigations and any possible prosecutions “independently.”
“The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch. I will exercise independent judgment and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate,” he said at the time.
Biden doesn’t answer questions about Trump indictment — 11:02 a.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
As he boarded Air Force One for a trip to North Carolina this morning, President Biden did not answer shouted questions about the Trump indictment.
Democrats say indictment shows Trump isn’t above the law — 10:50 a.m.
By the Associated Press
While Republicans accuse the federal government of political persecution, House Democrats say Trump’s indictment is an affirmation of America’s justice system.
“For four years, he acted like he was above the law. But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been,” tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who rose to national prominence as the lead prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Trump’s apparent indictment on multiple charges arising from his retention of classified materials is another affirmation of the rule of law.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 8, 2023
For four years, he acted like he was above the law. But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been.
“Today’s federal grand jury indictment tells us that former President Donald Trump put our national security in grave danger as he pursued yet another lawless personal agenda by pilfering and hoarding government documents,” said a statement from Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who was House manager for Trump’s second impeachment and is the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
He accused Republicans of “trying to divide the country and undercut our legal system.”
“He will have his day in court, in Miami and Manhattan and Atlanta too if it comes to it,” tweeted Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, also referencing a New York indictment in a hush money case and an investigation in Georgia. “But I am grateful to live in a nation where no man is above the law.”
All quiet at Department of Justice headquarters — 10:41 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Attorney General Merrick Garland is believed to have arrived at his office at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington — but avoided a crush of media waiting to see if there’s an indication when the indictment against Trump will be unsealed.
Garland arrived out of view of cameras and the Justice Department remained publicly silent Friday morning. The scene was similar throughout the night Thursday, even amid the political storm unleashed by news of the indictment.
‘Now I can’t’ declassify secret Iran papers, Donald Trump reportedly said on tape in 2021 — 10:34 a.m.
By The Washington Post
The evidence leading to the historic indictment of former president Donald Trump includes an audio recording from 2021 in which he talks about an apparently secret document and says, “As president, I could have declassified it, but now I can’t,” The Washington Post reported on Friday.
Trump’s lawyer says he’ll show up in court — 10:12 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump’s attorney says the former president will appear in court next week.
“He will appear in court on Tuesday, no doubt,” attorney James Trusty told NBC’s “Today” show Friday morning. “He’s not afraid of this thing. It’s a ridiculous criminalization of a noncriminal dispute, so he’ll be there.”
Trusty called the indictment an “overreach,” saying that something that wasn’t criminal for previous presidents has been “weaponized” by the Department of Justice.
And he says Trump is resilient.
“He was upset for the country, but in terms of him, he’s a fighter and he’s gonna come out swinging and he’ll be fine,” Trusty said.
Trusty told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the special counsel was “hell bent” on criminalizing something that lacks a criminal basis under the Presidential Records Act, putting “a stamp of reality on something that really is unreal.”
Extra security and media at Miami courthouse — 9:55 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A few extra security guards and a dozen media tents were the only signs of anything out of the ordinary Friday outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson federal courthouse in Miami as the world awaited details of the criminal indictment against Trump.
Towering palm trees line the breezeway where criminal defendants normally walk on their way into the sleek, high-rise courthouse.
But it remains unclear whether the former president — if he arrives here to be charged — will run into the pack of a few dozen journalists stationed just beyond the outdoor walkway or be allowed to enter the secure building through a garage normally reserved for judges.
Ron DeSantis, Kevin McCarthy, Trump allies denounce indictment — 9:40 a.m.
By the Associated Press
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted that “it is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him.”
The Republican added, “I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice.”
McCarthy said the House GOP “will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”
Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) June 9, 2023
It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him. Joe Biden kept classified documents for decades.
I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump…
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is condemning the indictment of Trump, his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination, as a political hatchet job.
“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation,” DeSantis tweeted.
“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” he adds.
The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 9, 2023
We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation.
Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?
The DeSantis…
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, meanwhile, said the indictment was a “sham” and “the continuation of the endless political persecution of Donald Trump.”
“Let’s be clear about what’s happening: Joe Biden is weaponizing his Department of Justice against his own political rival,” Scalise tweeted.
Let’s be clear about what’s happening: Joe Biden is weaponizing his Department of Justice against his own political rival.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) June 9, 2023
This sham indictment is the continuation of the endless political persecution of Donald Trump.
To pardon or not to pardon, that is the question (for the 2024 Republican presidential field) | Analysis — 9:18 a.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
So far, the 2024 Republican presidential field hasn’t faced such a clear dividing line question. The most persistent queries have been variations of: How do you defeat Donald Trump in the primary, or how do you feel about some specific Trump action. But answers to these could be massaged any which way, and didn’t provide a clean yes or no answer.
That is, until now.
Inside Trump’s club when the call came: You’re indicted — 9:00 a.m.
By The New York Times
Former president Donald Trump was gathered with his core political advisers in the office near his poolside cottage at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, when his phone rang around 7 p.m. on Thursday.
On the line, according to The New York Times, was one of his lawyers, informing him he had been indicted for the second time in less than three months.
Donald Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president — 8:30 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.
The Justice Department was expected to make public an indictment ahead of a historic court appearance next week in the midst of a 2024 presidential campaign punctuated by criminal prosecutions in multiple states.