(WASHINGTON) — Two long shot Republican candidates in the 2024 presidential race have gone further than others in the party in defending former President Donald Trump from his unprecedented federal indictment.
Vivek Ramaswamy and Perry Johnson, both entrepreneurs and both polling in the back of the pack of GOP candidates, have promised to pardon Trump if they are elected president — a pledge that hasn’t been taken up by most of the rest of the field. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has indicated support for a potential presidential pardon but hasn’t been definitive.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday called such promises “wrong” and “offensive,” comments he echoed on “ABC News Live Prime” on Tuesday.
Trump, who was arraigned in Florida on Tuesday afternoon, is charged with 37 counts including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Prosecutors allege he illegally retained government secrets after he left the White House and worked to avoid returning them when asked.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and his attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
On social media, he called his indictment last week a “DARK DAY” for the country.
Ramaswamy appeared outside the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday where Trump made his court appearance. There Ramaswamy said that he had sent letters to every other 2024 Republican candidate, seeking to have them also promise to pardon Trump.
Below is a look at where various Republican candidates stand on the issue, though many haven’t yet publicly addressed it.
Presidents can only pardon people convicted of federal crimes, not state crimes. Trump separately faces felony state charges in New York City related to hush money he paid to an adult film actress before the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
Ramaswamy and Johnson offer pardons if elected
Ramaswamy, a biotech company founder, initially made his promise of a presidential pardon for Trump before the indictment had been publicly released. On Sunday on CNN, when pressed on whether his view had changed after the indictment was revealed, Ramaswamy said it hadn’t, claiming that the allegations were “deeply politicized” and included “omissions” that he didn’t specify.
“I’m even more convinced that a pardon is the right answer here,” he said.
Prosecutors have defended their work: “This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged,” special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the federal case against Trump, said on Friday.
At his press conference on Tuesday, Ramaswamy said other White House hopefuls had to take a public stand as well.
“I challenge every one of the other candidates to actually act on their convictions,” he said. “If you’re not going to … pardon President Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, you deserve to say why.”
Johnson has repeatedly called for Trump to be pardoned, even before Trump faced federal charges. Johnson argued on social media that President Joe Biden should issue such a pardon and said that, if elected, he would issue a pardon for Trump himself.
“We must turn the page of American history and focus on important issues like ending this debt crisis, finally building the wall, and resolving the war in Ukraine,” Johnson wrote on Twitter last week.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Haley said she was leaning toward supporting a Trump pardon if she is elected, but she said it was too early to say.
“I would be inclined in favor of a pardon. But I think it’s really premature at this point when he’s not even been convicted of anything,” Haley said.
Hutchinson criticizes it as ‘simply wrong’
The former governor, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday after Ramaswamy, slammed offers of a presidential pardon for Trump.
“It is simply wrong for a candidate to use the pardon power of the United States of the president in order to curry votes and in order to get an applause line,” he said. “That really undermines the rule of law in our country that I have served my lifetime supporting, and it is offensive to me that anyone would be holding out a pardon under these circumstances.”
Hutchinson vehemently agreed on Sunday that Trump carries the presumption of innocence and has a right to make his case, but he called the indictment a “distraction” from the campaign — and has repeatedly called on Trump to end his bid “for the good of the country,” while acknowledging he won’t.
Republican candidate Steve Laffey has joined with Hutchinson on the issue of a prospective pardon, telling ABC News on Friday, “Enough is enough.”
“It’s time for him [Trump] to leave the stage. And if guilty, he goes to jail for quite a period of time,” Laffey said.
Other candidates not weighing in as definitively
Some of the biggest names in the Republican primary race, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, aren’t making similar pardon offers — though they haven’t publicly ruled them out either.
“I’m not going to speak to hypotheticals,” Pence told reporters on Friday in New Hampshire, also calling it “premature” for Trump to drop out. “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty in America, and I think the former president has a right to make his defense. And we’ll respect that right.”
DeSantis has criticized what he called the “weaponization” of the federal government, in bringing charges against Trump. But his campaign did not respond to a question from ABC News about whether he would promise a pardon if elected, or not.
In May, he was specifically asked on a radio show about potentially issuing a pardon for Trump or people charged in connection with Jan. 6. The governor did not mention either Trump or any specific Jan. 6 cases by name but indicated he was open to the idea.
“We will be aggressive [in] issuing pardons,” he said then, arguing that the Department of Justice and FBI had been turned to pursue political rather than law enforcement goals.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump ally-turned-critic, was asked about potentially pardoning Trump during the town hall-style event where he announced his White House bid last week.
“I can’t completely answer that until I know what he was charged with and convicted of,” Christie said, later adding, “But I will tell you as a [former] prosecutor, if I believe someone has gotten a full and fair trial, in front of a jury of their peers — and especially someone in public life — who committed those crimes when they held a public trust, I can’t imagine pardoning them.”
What about Biden?
On the other side of the aisle, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at Tuesday’s briefing if President Joe Biden would consider a pardon for Trump. She said she wouldn’t discuss the issue.
(WASHINGTON) — A “unity” team running for the White House next year may sound farfetched — one Republican and one Democrat teaming up to share a platform and a presidential ticket — but some Democrats say they are worried that such a possibility could spoil Joe Biden’s reelection hopes.
And they’re looking to stop it.
No Labels is the group floating a bipartisan team-up if 2024 features the increasingly likely rematch of Biden versus Donald Trump, both of whom face weak approval ratings. Democrats, burned by third-party candidates who may have tipped key states in 2016 — when, for example, Hillary Clinton lost Michigan to Trump by 11,000 votes while Libertarian Gary Johnson earned 172,000 ballots — are sounding the alarm that No Labels could similarly siphon votes from Biden.
In response, Democrats are mounting a scattered effort to blunt the outside group’s efforts.
Among No Labels’ gripes are what they decry as attempts to block access to the ballot in certain states. And while both Democrats and No Labels agree avoiding a Trump presidency is a priority, the feud has sparked a debate over whether efforts to pump the breaks on a third-party bid amount to suppression or due diligence.
“I will tell you, I lose sleep about this,” said veteran Georgia Democratic strategist David Brand.
He likened a hypothetical No Labels ticket to Democrats’ version of Ross Perot, the outside candidate who drew nearly 20% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election while incumbent George H.W. Bush narrowly lost to Bill Clinton.
“I have not spoken to anyone who’s doesn’t take this seriously,” Brand said, urging Democrats to be as “humanly and legally” aggressive as possible to keep No Labels off the ballot.
No Labels officials strongly refute that their potential ticket plans to serve as any kind of “spoiler,” casting it solely as an insurance policy and insisting that if polling numbers show a third-party bid has no path to victory, they will take an “off-ramp.” No specific person has been floated as a nominee — though some names like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have been speculated about — and a ticket would not be formally anointed until after Super Tuesday during the primary next year.
But for now, No Labels is dogged both in its belief in a national appetite for a bipartisan ticket and its efforts to clinch spots on the ballot in 2024.
The group points to polling it commissioned showing that voters would back a third-party ticket — without surveying precise candidates — and it has plans to qualify for ballots in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Their ticket, the group suggests, would be moderate in ideology, arguing that most Americans reject party extremes.
No Labels does not have to disclose its funders but is committed to raising $70 million for a third-party ticket in 2024.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, “We never share the names of our supporters because we live in an era where far-right and far-left agitators and partisan operatives try to destroy and intimidate organizations they don’t like by attacking their individual supporters.”
Benjamin Chavis, a No Labels national co-chair, told ABC News he is “very confident” the group will hit its goal.
“And the reason why we’re confident and our confidence grows each week is because of the responses that we get from the American people in all these states,” he said.
Still, Chavis and No Labels’ chief strategist, Ryan Clancy, insisted repeatedly in a nearly 45-minute interview that the momentum of a ballot access campaign wouldn’t prevent the group from pulling the plug if need be.
“No Labels is on the record, we will not be a spoiler in any case … to the interests of Donald Trump,” Chavis said.
Those assurances have done little to ease Democrats’ worries, with many party operatives maintaining that any third-party bid has no chance — and some not taking No Labels’ word that it would back out if it lacks adequate support.
“The voters that swung to the Democratic side after Trump came on the scene, I do not believe yet that they are permanent fixtures in the Democratic Party, which is why I really think a No Labels-type unity ticket or whatever you want to call it could potentially attract enough of those voters. And that would be, I think, tragic for our country,” said Pennsylvania-based strategist Mike Mikus.
Third Way, a center-left think tank, published a memo in March accusing No Labels’ potential ticket of boosting Trump and noting No Labels has “not explained their criteria” that would dictate leaving the race.
The think tank also helped coordinate an op-ed hitting No Labels.
And the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump GOP group, released a statement insisting it wasn’t trying to undermine No Labels but claiming that “objective math” suggested a third-party ticket was fated for defeat.
The Democratic Party in Arizona is suing No Labels and the Democratic secretary of state, contesting No Labels’ status as a third party in Arizona and accusing it instead of being a “dark money” group. And in Maine, the Democratic secretary of state sent letters to residents who signed forms registering with the No Labels Party seeking to ensure they indeed meant to register.
Some Democrats have also spoken out.
“No Labels is wasting time, energy, and money on a bizarre effort that confuses and divides voters, and has one obvious outcome — reelecting Donald Trump as President,” Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger said in a statement.
No Labels is not ready to definitively say the obstacles are part of a coordinated effort but claims it is being treated differently than other third parties.
“On the one hand, you don’t want to be conspiratorial,” said Clancy, the chief strategist. “On the other hand, when you talk to our people up in Maine, and they talk about in past elections when the Green Party or the Libertarian Party would make an effort to get on the ballot, it was a non-issue and the people who signed those registrations certainly never got the kind of letters are signatories got.”
“So, you can’t help but think we’re getting a little special attention because we’re injecting some unwelcome competition,” he said.
Officials in those states, however, told ABC News their efforts are nothing unusual.
Arizona’s Democratic Party claims No Labels hasn’t properly registered as a party, and Maine’s Department of the Secretary of State says they only sent letters to voters registered with No Labels after getting complaints from voters saying they thought they were signing up to support the idea of a third party — not necessarily switch their registration to one. And when letters were sent, bold text indicated that if voters indeed wanted to register with No Labels, no further action had to be taken.
Maine officials also said at least one resident complained that the form they were asked to sign was explicitly advertised as a form that wouldn’t impact registration.
“As the elections administrator, who the parties are, who the candidates are on the ballot are not something we take position on. But we want voters to be well-informed of their First Amendment rights to be associated with a party or no party affiliation of their choosing,” said Emily Cook, the communications director for Maine’s Department of the Secretary of State.
Chavis, No Labels’ co-chair, accused the moves of representing an “eerie similarity” to efforts to suppress the Black vote in the 20th century.
But Democrats backed up officials in Maine and Arizona, and strategists swatted away concerns on whether the roadblocks are politically motivated — saying they’re just fine with them if they’re legal.
“No Labels is kind of the ‘Seinfeld’ of political parties. It’s a party about nothing. And I think they’re pretty clearly out there to sabotage,” said one operative, Jared Leopold.
“Absolutely, Democrats should aggressively try to stop ballot access if there is reason to do so,” he added. “There’s a lot at stake here. And I think Democrats need to play hardball.”
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(MIAMI) — Former President Donald Trump made his first appearance Tuesday in a federal courtroom in Miami after he was indicted in an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Trump, who has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety, entered a not guilty plea through his attorneys and did not speak at all during the court appearance.
Trump has been charged with 37 counts: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information; one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 13, 10:10 PM EDT
Pence says he can’t defend what is alleged against Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview that he could not defend what was alleged against the former president.
After reading the indictment, Pence called the allegations charging former President Donald Trump “very serious” in an audio interview Tuesday with the Wall Street Journal.
“As the father and father-in-law of two men that currently serve in the Armed Forces of the United States, I will never diminish concerns over the handling of classified materials,” Pence said. “I can’t defend what has been alleged here, but the president is entitled to his day in court.”
Jun 13, 10:04 PM EDT
Trump attacks special counsel in speech
Trump also specifically took aim at special prosecutor Jack Smith and the Department of Justice — the government agency he once led as president.
Trump also said during his speech that they made the right move in not bringing charges against former Vice President Mike Pence for his handling of classified documents.
“He totally exonerated Mike Pence. I’m happy about that. Mike did nothing wrong, but he happened to have classified documents in his house,” Trump told his supporters before name-calling Smith, who he said does “political hit jobs.”
“I will tell you, I’m here. And I love you all. And we can take them,” he added.
Jun 13, 9:28 PM EDT
Trump claims he had right to documents
Former President Trump wasted no time slamming the indictment against him over his alleged mishandling of classified documents but remained as defiant as ever during his first official remarks since he was arraigned in federal court.
“Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country. Very sad thing to watch,” Trump said in a speech Tuesday evening at his Bedminster club.
“It’s a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation,” he added.
Trump once again falsely claimed that he was able to keep classified documents under the Presidential records act.
“I had every right to have these documents,” Trump said.
Jun 13, 7:41 PM EDT
Trump returns to New Jersey
Former President Donald Trump’s plane landed in Newark, New Jersey.
He will depart to his Bedminster club to greet a host of supporters, GOP donors and other guests.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
Jun 13, 4:56 PM EDT
Trump heads back to New Jersey
Former President Donald Trump’s plane has departed Miami and is now en route to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump will address his supporters Tuesday night.
Jun 13, 4:14 PM EDT
Trump makes stop at Cuban restaurant
Former President Donald Trump is making a stop at Versailles, a restaurant in Little Havana at the heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community.
He was greeted with cheers and shook hands and snapped photos with excited supporters.
Some patrons sang “Happy birthday” to Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday.
“We’re a nation in decline, and then they do this stuff,” Trump said in brief remarks. “You see the crowds and everything else — we have a country that is in decline like never before, and we can’t let it happen.”
Trump’s aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, attended the restaurant stop with the former president.
Jun 13, 4:07 PM EDT
Trump leaves courthouse
Former President Donald Trump has left the Miami federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to charges including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Trump, alone in the motorcade, with only his Secret Service detail in his car, is next heading to a local business in Miami, sources told ABC News.
Later in the day, Trump will fly to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he’ll address his supporters Tuesday night.
Jun 13, 3:47 PM EDT
Trump enters not guilty plea
Defense attorney Todd Blanche entered a not guilty plea on behalf of former President Donald Trump.
Trump was frowning at some points and was looking down toward the floor for most of the hearing.
Trump was already in the courtroom by about 2:45 p.m., ahead of the scheduled 3 p.m. start time. Seated at the same table as Trump was his aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta.
Trump waited in the courtroom for about 10 minutes before the judge arrived.
At first Trump appeared slumped in his chair, but when the judge asked for him to be officially arraigned, the former president sat up a bit and crossed his arms.
At one point during the arraignment, the magistrate judge asked Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise if they were permanent attorneys, and they indicated they were.
Trump was barred from speaking to any witnesses about the case, except through counsel.
Nauta did not enter a plea because he does not have local representation. He’s set to return to court on June 27.
Jun 13, 3:03 PM EDT
Special counsel Jack Smith in courtroom with Trump
Special counsel Jack Smith is currently in the courtroom for former President Donald Trump’s arraignment. It’s very unusual for a top prosecutor to attend such an early court appearance in a case.
This marks the first time Trump and Smith are in the same room.
Other prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are also present.
Jun 13, 2:12 PM EDT
Trump completes booking process at courthouse, will head to courtroom
Former President Donald Trump is inside the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
Former President Donald Trump leaves his Trump National Doral resort, June 13, 2023 in Doral, Fla.
While the former president is inside the courthouse, many members of Trump’s team are staying in the motorcade, sources told ABC News.
Trump spokesperson Alina Habba spoke to reporters outside the courthouse while the former president was inside the building.
Trump’s booking process has been completed, sources told ABC News. He was not expected to be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken, sources told ABC News.
Supporters and opponents of former President Donald Trump have congregated outside the courthouse with signs and costumes to make their voices heard.
Jun 13, 1:55 PM EDT
Trump arrives at federal courthouse
Former President Donald Trump has arrived at the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken, sources told ABC News.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official told reporters, adding that it’s “the same process that everyone goes through.”
Jun 13, 1:48 PM EDT
Trump riding in car alone
As former President Donald Trump motorcades to the courthouse, he is riding in his car alone, sources told ABC News.
Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Chris Kise, are in the car behind him. Trump aide Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the federal indictment, is also riding in that car with his attorney, Stanley Woodward.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Jun 13, 1:32 PM EDT
Trump leaves Doral club to head to court
Former President Donald Trump has left his Doral, Florida, golf club to motorcade to the Miami federal courthouse for his 3 p.m. appearance.
Some supporters with Trump flags lined the street outside Doral.
Jun 13, 1:03 PM EDT
Crowds calm outside courthouse, Miami mayor says
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told ABC News that the crowd outside the courthouse “seems manageable” ahead of former President Donald Trump’s arrival.
“Everything seems, right now, very calm. We are hopeful that it remains that way,” he said.
Jun 13, 11:28 AM EDT
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he’s processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Trump will be asked for his name and social security number when he’s processed, a law enforcement official told reporters.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official said, adding that it’s “the same process that everyone goes through.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky and John Santucci
Jun 13, 11:20 AM EDT
How serious are obstruction charges?
Of all the federal charges that former President Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta face in the investigation into the alleged mishandling of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious, according to legal experts.
Claire Finkelstein, the founder and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, noted that the obstruction charges in the indictment against Trump and his aide carry as much serious weight as the charges related to keeping the top secret documents, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Finkelstein said an obstruction charge can cover a broad range of alleged activities, from as simple as lying to investigators, to as major as destroying evidence. But she said it all comes down to one clear allegation: that the accused deliberately interfered with an ongoing criminal investigation.
The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump alleges that he willfully retained documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office, showed some of them on at least two occasions and then tried to obstruct the investigation into their whereabouts.
Federal prosecutors allege that the classified documents included “defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
Boxes of the documents were allegedly stored in locations around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, including a ballroom stage and a bathroom, according to prosecutors.
Jun 13, 9:28 AM EDT
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he’s processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Jun 13, 8:25 AM EDT
Chris Christie calls Trump’s conduct ‘inexcusable,’ ‘self-centered’
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took aim at former President Donald Trump during a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall Monday night, calling Trump’s conduct “inexcusable” for someone who wants to occupy the Oval Office.
“He has shown himself, and I think most particularly in his post-presidency, to be completely self-centered, completely self-consumed, and doesn’t give a damn about the American people, in my view, if what the American people want is in conflict with what Donald Trump thinks is best for him,” Christie said.
“I mean, put aside taking the documents in the first place,” Christie said. “But then when you start getting asked … nicely with a letter from the archivist saying, ‘Could you please give it back,’ and you ignore it, ignore it, ignore it. Then they come with a grand jury subpoena, and then, according to the indictment, you tell your lawyers to tell them we don’t have anything even though you have dozens and dozens of boxes of material. That’s obstruction of justice, if it’s true.”
Jun 13, 8:11 AM EDT
Lawyers Todd Blanche, Chris Kise expected to attend court appearance
Former President Donald Trump is expected to be joined by his lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise at Tuesday’s court appearance in Miami, sources told ABC News. Meetings with additional local attorneys are ongoing.
Blanche is representing Trump in the Manhattan criminal case while Kise represents Trump and the Trump Organization in other matters.
Jun 13, 5:12 AM EDT
Trump to appear in court at 3 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in federal court at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
He’s accused of willfully retaining documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office, prosecutors said. He allegedly showed some of the documents to people on at least two occasions and then tried to obstruct the investigation into their whereabouts, prosecutors claim.
Trump denied any wrongdoing over the weekend, saying: “We did absolutely nothing wrong. Take a look at the Presidential Records Act. We did it by the book. Perfect.”
Trump is expected to arrive at and depart from the Miami courthouse via secure private access points that would make it impossible for the public or journalists to see him.
Trump aide Walt Nauta, who was also charged in connection with his handling of government documents, is also due in court at 3 p.m.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday called on his fellow Republican presidential candidates to have “more courage” and “to speak out” against those already offering to pardon former President Donald Trump.
Asked about other White House hopefuls promising to pardon Trump, were he to be convicted, Hutchinson slammed such pledges as “wrong,” “unjustified,” and “bad precedent.”
“They’re politically pandering to get votes using the federal pardon power,” he told “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis in the wake of Trump’s arraignment on federal charges. “It incenses me as somebody who’s had to use the pardon power as governor and respects that power as president. You don’t use it as a campaign wedge issue or a campaign tool, so I’m offended by that as someone who loves our justice system in America.”
“It’s wrong for candidates to be promising that — whether it’s to a former president, or whether it’s to an average Joe that’s out there — you just don’t do that during the campaign. I want our candidates to show more courage and to speak out about this and provide leadership,” he added.
Trump was arraigned earlier Tuesday in Miami after he was indicted on 37 federal criminal counts stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified materials while out of office, including, prosecutors claim, holding onto government secrets and showing them to unauthorized people. He pleaded not guilty and has called the case a “hoax.”
2024 hopefuls split on indictment
While Hutchinson has been quick to call Trump a “distraction” to the 2024 race, other Republican candidates are getting behind the former president, who remains the front-runner in the race and is very popular with the Republican base. Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy held a press conference on Tuesday in Miami to rally support and issued a letter to other 2024 hopefuls asking that they all commit to pardoning Trump.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Cranston, Rhode Island, Mayor Steve Laffey have joined Hutchinson in condemning Trump’s conduct, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott have criticized, instead, what they call a “weaponization” of the federal government in bringing charges against Trump.
“This case is a serious case …. But in America, you’re still innocent until proven guilty,” Scott said on Monday.
Others have had evolving reactions as more details on the indictment become public.
Former U.N. ambassador under Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley initially slammed the charges as “prosecutorial overreach, double standards and vendetta politics,” but added days later, after the 49-page indictment was unsealed, “If what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security.”
By Tuesday afternoon, Haley told “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show”: “I would be inclined in favor of a pardon, but I think it’s really premature at this point when he’s not even been convicted of anything.”
Hutchinson, who has said “no” to pardoning Trump, continues to call on him to resign from the race but doesn’t expect that will happen. He’s also asked the Republican National Committee to not require candidates who qualify for the debate stage to pledge to support the eventual nominee “if they are found guilty of espionage or a serious felony.”
The RNC has not offered to change its requirement.
“I’m not going to be supporting somebody who is convicted or who has wrongfully handled material that jeopardizes the security of the United States,” Hutchinson told Davis on Tuesday. “We’re gonna be negotiating this language to assure that there’s not going to be a circumstance that we’re bound to support somebody who is convicted of a very serious felony.”
“I hope it’s something that I can live with because I want to be on the debate stage — but there’s certain principles you don’t cross,” he said.
Weighing in as a former federal prosecutor
A former federal prosecutor, Hutchinson served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas during the Reagan administration before serving three terms in the U.S. House and two terms as Arkansas governor, among other roles in public service. He’s repeated that Trump carries the presumption of innocence until proven guilty but called the indictment “thorough” and the charges “very serious.”
“Whenever you look at the specificity that’s laid out in the indictment, it’s a very strong case,” he said Tuesday. “As [Trump’s former Attorney General] Bill Barr said, if half of it is true then it’s a very devastating case that’s being presented.”
Hutchinson said the American people deserve to see a speedy trial as Trump’s case coincides with the 2024 race for president.
“I’ve actually tried cases in which classified information was involved, and it does have a level of complexity … it is more complex than normal,” Hutchinson said. “I hope that the judges and the courts understand that you have to be fair to the defendant and give them the right to prepare. But at the same time, there’s extraordinary public interest for our nation in getting this issue resolved in a timely fashion.”
Hutchinson is polling at less than 1%, according to an average from FiveThirtyEight.
He said he’s determined to make the first debate stage on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(MIAMI) — Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday after he was indicted in an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Trump has been charged with 37 counts: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information; one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Trump has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 13, 7:41 PM EDT
Trump returns to New Jersey
Former President Donald Trump’s plane landed in Newark, New Jersey.
He will depart to his Bedminster club to greet a host of supporters, GOP donors and other guests.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
Jun 13, 4:56 PM EDT
Trump heads back to New Jersey
Former President Donald Trump’s plane has departed Miami and is now en route to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump will address his supporters Tuesday night.
Jun 13, 4:14 PM EDT
Trump makes stop at Cuban restaurant
Former President Donald Trump is making a stop at Versailles, a restaurant in Little Havana at the heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community.
He was greeted with cheers and shook hands and snapped photos with excited supporters.
Some patrons sang “Happy birthday” to Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday.
“We’re a nation in decline, and then they do this stuff,” Trump said in brief remarks. “You see the crowds and everything else — we have a country that is in decline like never before, and we can’t let it happen.”
Trump’s aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, attended the restaurant stop with the former president.
Jun 13, 4:07 PM EDT
Trump leaves courthouse
Former President Donald Trump has left the Miami federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to charges including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Trump, alone in the motorcade, with only his Secret Service detail in his car, is next heading to a local business in Miami, sources told ABC News.
Later in the day, Trump will fly to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he’ll address his supporters Tuesday night.
Jun 13, 3:47 PM EDT
Trump enters not guilty plea
Defense attorney Todd Blanche entered a not guilty plea on behalf of former President Donald Trump.
Trump was frowning at some points and was looking down toward the floor for most of the hearing.
Trump was already in the courtroom by about 2:45 p.m., ahead of the scheduled 3 p.m. start time. Seated at the same table as Trump was his aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta.
Trump waited in the courtroom for about 10 minutes before the judge arrived.
At first Trump appeared slumped in his chair, but when the judge asked for him to be officially arraigned, the former president sat up a bit and crossed his arms.
At one point during the arraignment, the magistrate judge asked Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise if they were permanent attorneys, and they indicated they were.
Trump was barred from speaking to any witnesses about the case, except through counsel.
Nauta did not enter a plea because he does not have local representation. He’s set to return to court on June 27.
Jun 13, 3:03 PM EDT
Special counsel Jack Smith in courtroom with Trump
Special counsel Jack Smith is currently in the courtroom for former President Donald Trump’s arraignment. It’s very unusual for a top prosecutor to attend such an early court appearance in a case.
This marks the first time Trump and Smith are in the same room.
Other prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are also present.
Jun 13, 2:12 PM EDT
Trump completes booking process at courthouse, will head to courtroom
Former President Donald Trump is inside the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
Former President Donald Trump leaves his Trump National Doral resort, June 13, 2023 in Doral, Fla.
While the former president is inside the courthouse, many members of Trump’s team are staying in the motorcade, sources told ABC News.
Trump spokesperson Alina Habba spoke to reporters outside the courthouse while the former president was inside the building.
Trump’s booking process has been completed, sources told ABC News. He was not expected to be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken, sources told ABC News.
Supporters and opponents of former President Donald Trump have congregated outside the courthouse with signs and costumes to make their voices heard.
Jun 13, 1:55 PM EDT
Trump arrives at federal courthouse
Former President Donald Trump has arrived at the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken, sources told ABC News.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official told reporters, adding that it’s “the same process that everyone goes through.”
Jun 13, 1:48 PM EDT
Trump riding in car alone
As former President Donald Trump motorcades to the courthouse, he is riding in his car alone, sources told ABC News.
Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Chris Kise, are in the car behind him. Trump aide Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the federal indictment, is also riding in that car with his attorney, Stanley Woodward.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Jun 13, 1:32 PM EDT
Trump leaves Doral club to head to court
Former President Donald Trump has left his Doral, Florida, golf club to motorcade to the Miami federal courthouse for his 3 p.m. appearance.
Some supporters with Trump flags lined the street outside Doral.
Jun 13, 1:03 PM EDT
Crowds calm outside courthouse, Miami mayor says
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told ABC News that the crowd outside the courthouse “seems manageable” ahead of former President Donald Trump’s arrival.
“Everything seems, right now, very calm. We are hopeful that it remains that way,” he said.
Jun 13, 11:28 AM EDT
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he’s processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Trump will be asked for his name and social security number when he’s processed, a law enforcement official told reporters.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official said, adding that it’s “the same process that everyone goes through.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky and John Santucci
Jun 13, 11:20 AM EDT
How serious are obstruction charges?
Of all the federal charges that former President Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta face in the investigation into the alleged mishandling of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious, according to legal experts.
Claire Finkelstein, the founder and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, noted that the obstruction charges in the indictment against Trump and his aide carry as much serious weight as the charges related to keeping the top secret documents, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Finkelstein said an obstruction charge can cover a broad range of alleged activities, from as simple as lying to investigators, to as major as destroying evidence. But she said it all comes down to one clear allegation: that the accused deliberately interfered with an ongoing criminal investigation.
The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump alleges that he willfully retained documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office, showed some of them on at least two occasions and then tried to obstruct the investigation into their whereabouts.
Federal prosecutors allege that the classified documents included “defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
Boxes of the documents were allegedly stored in locations around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, including a ballroom stage and a bathroom, according to prosecutors.
Jun 13, 9:28 AM EDT
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he’s processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Jun 13, 8:25 AM EDT
Chris Christie calls Trump’s conduct ‘inexcusable,’ ‘self-centered’
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took aim at former President Donald Trump during a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall Monday night, calling Trump’s conduct “inexcusable” for someone who wants to occupy the Oval Office.
“He has shown himself, and I think most particularly in his post-presidency, to be completely self-centered, completely self-consumed, and doesn’t give a damn about the American people, in my view, if what the American people want is in conflict with what Donald Trump thinks is best for him,” Christie said.
“I mean, put aside taking the documents in the first place,” Christie said. “But then when you start getting asked … nicely with a letter from the archivist saying, ‘Could you please give it back,’ and you ignore it, ignore it, ignore it. Then they come with a grand jury subpoena, and then, according to the indictment, you tell your lawyers to tell them we don’t have anything even though you have dozens and dozens of boxes of material. That’s obstruction of justice, if it’s true.”
Jun 13, 8:11 AM EDT
Lawyers Todd Blanche, Chris Kise expected to attend court appearance
Former President Donald Trump is expected to be joined by his lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise at Tuesday’s court appearance in Miami, sources told ABC News. Meetings with additional local attorneys are ongoing.
Blanche is representing Trump in the Manhattan criminal case while Kise represents Trump and the Trump Organization in other matters.
Jun 13, 5:12 AM EDT
Trump to appear in court at 3 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in federal court at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
He’s accused of willfully retaining documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office, prosecutors said. He allegedly showed some of the documents to people on at least two occasions and then tried to obstruct the investigation into their whereabouts, prosecutors claim.
Trump denied any wrongdoing over the weekend, saying: “We did absolutely nothing wrong. Take a look at the Presidential Records Act. We did it by the book. Perfect.”
Trump is expected to arrive at and depart from the Miami courthouse via secure private access points that would make it impossible for the public or journalists to see him.
Trump aide Walt Nauta, who was also charged in connection with his handling of government documents, is also due in court at 3 p.m.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House is responding after several transgender guests exposed their chests at the administration’s Pride celebration this past weekend.
The incident drew backlash as inappropriate, including from conservative commentators like CJ Pearson who suggested online that it brought “shame” on the country.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that.”
“It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families,” she continued. “So, you know, we’re going to continue to be clear on that. … It’s not appropriate. It’s disrespectful. And let’s not — it really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.”
The individuals in the video won’t be invited to future events, Jean-Pierre said.
“This has not occurred before,” she said. “This was not a normal thing that has happened under this administration. But we’ve been very clear about how we saw this particular behavior.”
The Bidens welcomed hundreds of LGBTQ families from across the country on Saturday to mark Pride month. The administration described the event as the largest-ever Pride celebration at the White House.
Rose Montoya, a transgender model and activist, posted a one-minute video to TikTok showing different aspects of the event. At one point, Montoya can be seen meeting President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
At another point, the video shows Montoya and other individuals bearing their chests while posing in front of the White House South Portico. Montoya is seen covering her bare chest with her hands.
“Are we topless at the White House?” someone can be heard saying in the video. It’s not clear who the other individuals are in the video.
Montoya responded to criticism to the toplessness in a separate TikTok post on Monday.
“My trans masculine friends were showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them,” she said in the video. “And because it is perfectly within the law in Washington D.C., I decided to join them and cover my nipples just to play it safe.”
Montoya didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News on the White House’s reaction. On Instagram, she wrote that she would be “making a public statement … soon.”
At the Pride event, President Biden spoke out against anti-LGBTQ legislation being introduced and passed in various state legislatures around the country.
He also had a message for “the entire community,” but particularly for transgender youth.
“You are loved. You are heard. You are understood,” he said. “And you belong.”
(WASHINGTON) — Much as happened after his first indictment, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are minimizing and/or mischaracterizing the charges leveled against him over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
The full-throated response from Trump and his staunchest supporters includes inaccurate claims about the Espionage Act and the Presidential Records Act, as well accusations of “weaponization” by the Justice Department, made without evidence.
Trump, who has been charged with 37 counts ranging from willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice, has denied all wrongdoing.
The indictment unsealed last week by prosecutors alleged Trump knowingly kept classified secret documents and put national security “at risk.”
Here’s a fact-check of some of the claims being made by Trump and his Republican allies.
‘He is not a spy’
Trump inaccurately referred to the charges under the Espionage Act during a Saturday speech to a Republican audience in Georgia.
“Doesn’t that sound terrible?” Trump said in an apparently mocking tone. “Oh, espionage. We got a box. I got a box. The espionage.”
Trump is being charged with 31 counts under the Espionage Act, but he is not being accused by prosecutors of being a spy. The indictment did not provide evidence prosecutors believe Trump disseminated the information to a foreign government or other entity with the intent to harm the U.S.
The 31 counts under the Espionage Act are being brought under Section 793(e), with prosecutors alleging he had “unauthorized possession of, access to, and control over documents relating to the national defense” and “did willfully retain the documents and fail to deliver them to the officer and employee of the United States entitled to receive them.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on ABC’s “This Week,” called the Espionage Act charges “absolutely ridiculous.”
“Whether you like Trump or not, he did not commit espionage,” Graham said. “He did not disseminate, leak or provide information to a foreign power or to a news organization to damage this country. He is not a spy. He’s overcharged.”
But Bill Barr, who served as attorney general under Trump, said the Espionage Act charges “are solid counts.”
“I do think we have to wait and see what the defense says and what proves to be true, but I do think that … if even half of it is true, then he’s toast,” Barr said during a Fox News interview.
He said efforts to paint Trump as a “victim” are “ridiculous.
‘He declassified all of this’
Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, claimed during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Trump has “said time and time again he declassified all this” and “can put it wherever he wants and handle it however he wants.”
But according to prosecutors, Trump admitted on tape that he possessed classified documents he hadn’t declassified in a transcript of an audio recording of an interview he did at his New Jersey golf club in July 2021.
“See, as president I could have declassified it,” Trump allegedly said. “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
Trump and his legal team haven’t provided evidence that he declassified all the materials found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Pressed for proof Trump declassified the material, Jordan replied: “I go on the president’s word.”
Immunity under the Presidential Records Act
Trump, in Georgia this past weekend, continued to claim all the documents fell under the Presidential Records Act, which is not a criminal statute, and criticized prosecutors for not mentioning the law in the indictment.
The 1978 law requires that records created by presidents and vice presidents be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of their administrations, but Trump and his team have argued in the past that the law allows him to negotiate with NARA over which documents are personal and what’s presidential.
NARA in a June 9 statement pushed back on misleading claims about the Presidential Records Act, stating it requires a president to separate personal and presidential documents “before leaving office.”
“There is no history, practice, or provision in law for presidents to take official records with them when they leave office to sort through, such as for a two-year period as described in some reports,” the administration said.
Comparison with Biden’s case
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday attempted to draw comparisons between Trump’s case and the classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and office, which is also under investigation by a special counsel.
“I think President Trump has not been treated equally like everybody else in this process,” McCarthy told reporters. “I think when you’re looking now currently at a current president that has documents sitting behind his automobile in a garage that date all the way back to a senator, that raises a lot if you’re charging one and not charging the other. You raid one house and you don’t raid the other — that’s a little different, and that’s not fair.”
Legal experts have noted the apparent differences in Trump and Biden cases, including how each responded to law enforcement. Unlike in Trump’s case, where authorities had to issue a subpoena and later conduct a search to get the documents, which Trump allegedly concealed, Biden attorneys said they immediately notified the National Archives when they found the first set of documents at his office in November 2022.
Reporters repeatedly pressed this point with McCarthy, noting that the indictment alleges that Trump deliberately misled investigators and conspired to obstruct justice, allegations that have not been levied against Biden and others. McCarthy did not address those discrepancies directly.
“Is it a good picture to have boxes in a garage that opens all the time?” McCarthy added, commenting on the documents found in Biden’s possession at his Delaware residence. “A bathroom door locks.”
It’s not clear whether the door at the Mar-a-Lago bathroom was locked or even had a lock.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Gabe Ferris contributed to this report.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(MIAMI) — Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday after he was indicted in an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Trump has been charged with 37 counts: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information; one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Trump has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 13, 4:08 PM EDT
Trump makes stop at Cuban restaurant
Former President Donald Trump is making a stop at Versailles, a restaurant in Little Havana at the heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community.
He was greeted with cheers and shook hands with excited supporters.
Jun 13, 3:54 PM EDT
Trump leaves courthouse
Former President Donald Trump has left the Miami federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to charges including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Trump will fly to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he’ll address his supporters Tuesday night.
Jun 13, 3:47 PM EDT
Trump enters not guilty plea
Defense attorney Todd Blanche entered a not guilty plea on behalf of former President Donald Trump.
Trump was frowning at some points and was looking down toward the floor for most of the hearing.
Trump was already in the courtroom by about 2:45 p.m., ahead of the scheduled 3 p.m. start time. Seated at the same table as Trump was his aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta.
Trump waited in the courtroom for about 10 minutes before the judge arrived.
At first Trump appeared slumped in his chair, but when the judge asked for him to be officially arraigned, the former president sat up a bit and crossed his arms.
At one point during the arraignment, the magistrate judge asked Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise if they were permanent attorneys, and they indicated they were.
Trump was barred from speaking to any witnesses about the case, except through counsel.
Nauta did not enter a plea because he does not have local representation. He’s set to return to court on June 27.
Jun 13, 3:03 PM EDT
Special counsel Jack Smith in courtroom with Trump
Special counsel Jack Smith is currently in the courtroom for former President Donald Trump’s arraignment. It’s very unusual for a top prosecutor to attend such an early court appearance in a case.
This marks the first time Trump and Smith are in the same room.
Other prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are also present.
Jun 13, 2:12 PM EDT
Trump completes booking process at courthouse, will head to courtroom
Former President Donald Trump is inside the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
Former President Donald Trump leaves his Trump National Doral resort, June 13, 2023 in Doral, Fla.
While the former president is inside the courthouse, many members of Trump’s team are staying in the motorcade, sources told ABC News.
Trump spokesperson Alina Habba spoke to reporters outside the courthouse while the former president was inside the building.
Trump’s booking process has been completed, sources told ABC News. He was not expected to be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken, sources told ABC News.
Supporters and opponents of former President Donald Trump have congregated outside the courthouse with signs and costumes to make their voices heard.
Jun 13, 1:55 PM EDT
Trump arrives at federal courthouse
Former President Donald Trump has arrived at the Miami federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. appearance.
Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken, sources told ABC News.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official told reporters, adding that it’s “the same process that everyone goes through.”
Jun 13, 1:48 PM EDT
Trump riding in car alone
As former President Donald Trump motorcades to the courthouse, he is riding in his car alone, sources told ABC News.
Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Chris Kise, are in the car behind him. Trump aide Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the federal indictment, is also riding in that car with his attorney, Stanley Woodward.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Jun 13, 1:32 PM EDT
Trump leaves Doral club to head to court
Former President Donald Trump has left his Doral, Florida, golf club to motorcade to the Miami federal courthouse for his 3 p.m. appearance.
Some supporters with Trump flags lined the street outside Doral.
Jun 13, 1:03 PM EDT
Crowds calm outside courthouse, Miami mayor says
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told ABC News that the crowd outside the courthouse “seems manageable” ahead of former President Donald Trump’s arrival.
“Everything seems, right now, very calm. We are hopeful that it remains that way,” he said.
Jun 13, 11:28 AM EDT
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he’s processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Trump will be asked for his name and social security number when he’s processed, a law enforcement official told reporters.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official said, adding that it’s “the same process that everyone goes through.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky and John Santucci
Jun 13, 11:20 AM EDT
How serious are obstruction charges?
Of all the federal charges that former President Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta face in the investigation into the alleged mishandling of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious, according to legal experts.
Claire Finkelstein, the founder and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, noted that the obstruction charges in the indictment against Trump and his aide carry as much serious weight as the charges related to keeping the top secret documents, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Finkelstein said an obstruction charge can cover a broad range of alleged activities, from as simple as lying to investigators, to as major as destroying evidence. But she said it all comes down to one clear allegation: that the accused deliberately interfered with an ongoing criminal investigation.
The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump alleges that he willfully retained documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office, showed some of them on at least two occasions and then tried to obstruct the investigation into their whereabouts.
Federal prosecutors allege that the classified documents included “defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
Boxes of the documents were allegedly stored in locations around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, including a ballroom stage and a bathroom, according to prosecutors.
Jun 13, 9:28 AM EDT
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he’s processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Jun 13, 8:25 AM EDT
Chris Christie calls Trump’s conduct ‘inexcusable,’ ‘self-centered’
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took aim at former President Donald Trump during a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall Monday night, calling Trump’s conduct “inexcusable” for someone who wants to occupy the Oval Office.
“He has shown himself, and I think most particularly in his post-presidency, to be completely self-centered, completely self-consumed, and doesn’t give a damn about the American people, in my view, if what the American people want is in conflict with what Donald Trump thinks is best for him,” Christie said.
“I mean, put aside taking the documents in the first place,” Christie said. “But then when you start getting asked … nicely with a letter from the archivist saying, ‘Could you please give it back,’ and you ignore it, ignore it, ignore it. Then they come with a grand jury subpoena, and then, according to the indictment, you tell your lawyers to tell them we don’t have anything even though you have dozens and dozens of boxes of material. That’s obstruction of justice, if it’s true.”
Jun 13, 8:11 AM EDT
Lawyers Todd Blanche, Chris Kise expected to attend court appearance
Former President Donald Trump is expected to be joined by his lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise at Tuesday’s court appearance in Miami, sources told ABC News. Meetings with additional local attorneys are ongoing.
Blanche is representing Trump in the Manhattan criminal case while Kise represents Trump and the Trump Organization in other matters.
Jun 13, 5:12 AM EDT
Trump to appear in court at 3 p.m.
Former President Donald Trump is set to appear in federal court at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
He’s accused of willfully retaining documents containing the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including nuclear programs, after he left office, prosecutors said. He allegedly showed some of the documents to people on at least two occasions and then tried to obstruct the investigation into their whereabouts, prosecutors claim.
Trump denied any wrongdoing over the weekend, saying: “We did absolutely nothing wrong. Take a look at the Presidential Records Act. We did it by the book. Perfect.”
Trump is expected to arrive at and depart from the Miami courthouse via secure private access points that would make it impossible for the public or journalists to see him.
Trump aide Walt Nauta, who was also charged in connection with his handling of government documents, is also due in court at 3 p.m.
(WASHINGTON) — Last week’s indictment of Donald Trump, marking the first time a former president has ever faced federal charges, also created new questions about how his political future could be affected by a historic prosecution.
The 37 counts against Trump over how he allegedly handled government secrets after leaving the White House are the latest and most serious of his legal issues.
But polling, reactions from Republicans — including some of Trump’s 2024 opponents — and the aftermath of Trump’s first indictment, in New York City, show that it’s so far unclear whether the case will have lasting impact on the public.
A near equal percentage of Americans believe both that Trump should have been charged and that the charges against him were politically motivated, an ABC News/Ipsos survey last week found.
What is clear, however, is that the indictment has changed the course of the Republican primary campaign.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 candidate facing Trump, said on Fox News on Monday that she had concerns both about federal law enforcement and about Trump’s suspected behavior.
“Two things can be true at the same time. One, the DOJ and FBI have lost all credibility with the American people. … The second thing can also be true if this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security,” she said.
Trump is set to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon in Florida. He has said he is innocent. He previously pleaded not guilty to the felony charges he faces in New York City related to hush money he paid to an adult film actress before the 2016 presidential election.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claims he is being politically persecuted. Prosecutors have pushed back.
“This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged,” special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the federal case against Trump, said on Friday.
Here are key political takeaways and questions after Trump’s second indictment.
Poll shows contradictory feelings among Americans
The ABC News/Ipsos poll, conducted on Friday and Saturday among a random national sample of 910 U.S. adults, found sharp divides on the appropriateness and seriousness of the charges as well as whether Trump should now leave the race.
Forty-eight percent of Americans said Trump should have been charged with crimes, while 35% said he should not have been and 17% said they didn’t know. And 46% said Trump should suspend his bid for the White House, while 38% said he should not and 16% didn’t know.
However, 47% of respondents also said they believed the charges were politically motivated, while 37% said they weren’t and 16% weren’t sure.
Generally speaking, non-whites and those with a college education were less favorable to Trump on these questions.
About six in 10 Americans (61%) said that the charges were very or somewhat serious, while only 28% said they were not too serious or not serious at all.
In a sign of possible political danger for Trump, about 63% of independents called the charges somewhat or very serious, and 38% of Republicans said the same. Democrats, unsurprisingly, overwhelmingly thought the charges were somewhat or very serious, with 91% saying so.
Forty-five percent of independents said that Trump should have been charged versus 33% percent who said he should not have been. A large majority (86%) of Democrats said Trump should have been charged compared to only 16% of Republicans.
What’s more, 44% of independents said Trump should end his 2024 campaign, while 37% said he should not. About three-quarters (76%) of Democrats also thought Trump should suspend his campaign. However, just over two-thirds (68%) of Republicans disagreed, saying Trump should not suspend his campaign.
On the other hand, 45% of independents also said they felt the case was politically motivated, while 37% said it wasn’t. Sixteen percent of Democrats and 80% of Republicans said it was politically motivated, too.
Trump could see primary boost as other candidates split
Given what happened after his previous criminal charges, Trump could see another increase in his fundraising and in support from Republican voters after his second indictment — at least in the primary.
An ABC News poll conducted after Trump’s first indictment in New York showed that he gained some ground in the primary over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his nearest competitor, compared to DeSantis’ previous polling average as compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
“There’s nothing in polling right now that suggests that Donald Trump is being hurt by federal indictments, by any indictments. The case of New York from a couple of months ago, it may have actually helped his standing,” ABC News Political Director Rick Klein said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
“It may be that this case is more serious, it may be that his rivals are making the case and they can sort of get in there a little bit and change these dynamics,” Klein said, “but for those who are saying that Donald Trump is done politically as a result of facing criminal charges, there’s just no evidence of that yet.”
Some of Trump’s challengers have rallied to his defense, like Vivek Ramaswamy. Others, like DeSantis, have criticized federal authorities for, in their words, unfairly targeting Trump.
But some Republican candidates have tried to prosecute the case that he is unfit, based on his alleged conduct.
“My point is that this is bad for our country, bad for the presidency, and it is a legitimate campaign issue. We do not need to have our commander in chief of this country not protecting our nation’s secrets,” former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on CNN. “If these allegations and probable cause have been found against any military person, any public servant that wasn’t named Donald Trump, they would have been indicted a long time ago.”
Independents could offer Democrats an opening
Independents were a key voting bloc supporting Democrats in the 2020 election, according to exit polls. Self-identified independents voted Democrat by a 54-41 margin in 2020, according to the exit polling.
The latest ABC News/Ipsos survey on Trump’s indictment shows they aren’t embracing him, while Democratic and Republican voters have largely broken along partisan lines on the issue.
Among independents, 45% said Trump should have been charged, a third said he should not have been and 22% said they didn’t know. Overall, 57% of independents in this poll had an unfavorable view of Trump and, again, a majority of independents were also more likely to count the charges as serious.
The numbers seem to bode well for a Democratic Party that has been chosen by a majority of independents in past cycles.
Low favorability for both parties’ front-runners
Both Trump and Biden suffer from identically dismal favorability ratings in the new ABC News/Ipsos poll. Both stand at 31% although Trump’s is up from 25% in the days after his first indictment while Biden’s has remained about the same.
Those numbers are sparking both handwringing from some Democrats and barbs from Trump’s critics that he is blocking more electable Republicans from making gains in the primary.
“I don’t think Trump can win a general election, but that is a nice way for him to diss people like Tim Scott, who is a pretty formidable candidate,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said on CNN last month, referencing South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, another GOP primary candidate.
Meanwhile, on Sunday on “This Week,” Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, a close ally of the White House, acknowledged polling showing Biden trailing or tied with Trump.
“I think we should be worried given [Trump’s] conduct and given his record,” he said.
Coons later told anchor George Stephanopoulos, “I think the best thing for Joe Biden to do in this campaign is to keep showing that he is an effective and capable president by continuing to solve big problems” — all “despite the distractions of former President Trump’s rising legal problems.”
Trump indictment forces his rivals to talk about him
News of the federal charges on Thursday night immediately shook the primary, taking candidates off their regularly scheduled programming and dividing the GOP field, with some of Trump’s critics in the race taking the chance to highlight his legal peril — despite Republican voters saying in polls that they reject the indictment.
“The fact is that these facts are devastating,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another primary candidate, said on Sunday.
“The bigger issue for our country is, is this the type of conduct that we want from someone who wants to be president of the United States?” Christie said.
Others, however, sided with the former president, with entrepreneur Ramaswamy vowing to pardon Trump if he’s elected president — an offer that Hutchinson labeled “offensive” — and others emphasizing what they view as a politicized justice system.
“What we see today across this administration of President Joe Biden is a double standard,” Scott said Monday. “That double standard is both un-American and unacceptable. You can’t protect Democrats while targeting and hunting Republicans.”
“This case is a serious case …. But in America, you’re still innocent until proven guilty,” he said.
DeSantis, who has been slamming Trump more directly on the trail, made more indirect references to the former president’s case. He decried what he called government “weaponization” and pointed to Hillary Clinton, who was investigated but ultimately not charged after prosecutors found “a lack of intent,” authorities have said.
“I remember, you know, Hillary [Clinton] had emails with the classified, and my view was, gee, as a naval officer, if I would have taken classified from my department, I would have been court marshaled in a New York minute, and yet they seem to not care about that,” DeSantis said on Sunday.
Unlike Ramaswamy, DeSantis has not promised a pardon to Trump if elected. GOP candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence was asked about it but avoided weighing in last week, saying, “I’m not going to speak to hypotheticals.”
Indictment fuels divides over law enforcement
Beyond the campaign trail, the indictment appears to be exacerbating partisan divides over law enforcement.
Democrats for years have been mired in an intraparty debate over changes to policing, which Republicans have taken advantage of to hit the party as, they claim, soft on crime.
But now, conservatives are accusing federal law enforcement of bias and even mulling efforts to defund part or all of the FBI.
While the timeline for Trump’s federal case remains unclear — and with his trial in the New York case slated for March 2024 — it’s all but certain that the charges against him will shadow the Republican primary race for months to come.
METHODOLOGY – This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted using Ipsos Public Affairs‘ KnowledgePanel® June 9-10, 2023, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 910 U.S. adults with an oversample of Republican respondents weighted to their correct proportion in the general population. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.7 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 26-25-41 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents. See the poll’s topline results and details on the methodology here. (NOTE: LINK the word “here” to the Topline document. )
ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Libby Cathey, Abby Cruz and Dan Merkle contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Almost immediately after the Justice Department on Friday unsealed its indictment against Donald Trump, the former president’s allies began crying foul, noting that — at least so far — no charges have been filed against President Joe Biden for retaining classified documents from his time as vice president or against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
Posting to Twitter on Friday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., denounced the “double standard.” And appearing on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Clinton “got away” with doing something “similar” to what Trump did.
Trump himself has made similar claims.
But a review of government documents and public statements tied to all three investigations suggests there are key differences between the evidence uncovered in Trump’s case and the others. It also helps to explain why the Justice Department recently declined to charge former Vice President Mike Pence for his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
What’s the intent?
The most glaring difference between Trump’s case and Clinton’s case is what prosecutors found about their intent: While the indictment against Trump alleges he violated the Espionage Act through “willful retention of national defense information,” prosecutors in Clinton’s case determined they couldn’t show she was “willful” in her intent.
In fact, as later recounted by the Justice Department’s inspector general, prosecutors in Clinton’s case concluded the evidence they gathered showed “a lack of intent to communicate classified information on unclassified systems.”
That’s largely because “[n]one of the emails Clinton received were properly marked to inform her of the classified status of the information,” and investigators found evidence that Clinton and her aides “worded emails carefully in an attempt to ‘talk around’ classified information,” according to the inspector general’s report on the matter.
“There was no evidence that the senders or former Secretary Clinton believed or were aware at the time that the emails contained classified information,” prosecutors concluded, according to the inspector general.
By contrast, the indictment against Trump not only says that nearly all of the 31 documents he’s charged with “willfully” retaining at his Mar-a-Lago estate were marked as classified, but it also details alleged conversations and actions showing that he allegedly knew he took and held onto classified documents from the White House.
In one recording obtained by investigators, Trump can be heard — six months after leaving office — showing a writer and three others what he calls a “secret” document, prosecutors allege. “As president I could have declassified it … [but] now I can’t,” he said on the recording, according to the indictment.
Media reports say authorities have been unable to find that document. And Trump is not charged with illegally retaining it or nearly 200 other documents that were returned to the U.S. government before the Justice Department issued its subpoena to Trump.
Trump has insisted he’s “an innocent man” who “did nothing wrong,” claiming on social media after the indictment was unsealed that “this case has nothing to do with the Espionage Act.”
In defending his actions detailed in the indictment, Trump has suggested he was operating in accordance with the Presidential Records Act — an assertion that the National Archives has disputed.
Nevertheless, he noted on social media that “Hillary and Biden were not indicted” for their handling of sensitive documents.
‘If Trump had done the same’
The indictment against Trump alleges that his “refusal to return” so many classified documents — despite “months of demands” by the National Archives and a federal grand jury subpoena — and the conspiracy he allegedly launched to “hide and conceal” his “continued possession of documents with classification markings” reflects his intent.
He participated in that conspiracy “knowingly and willfully,” including by allegedly pushing his own attorney to lie to federal authorities seeking all classified documents and by allegedly directing one of his aides to hide certain boxes of documents from that attorney, according to the indictment.
“The purpose of the conspiracy was for Trump to keep classified documents he had taken with him from the White House,” the indictment says.
By contrast, after Pence’s team conducted a review of his own records and found “some classified documents” at his home in Indiana, Pence “fully cooperated with the Justice Department,” according to Pence.
“I took full responsibility,” Pence told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, just days after the Justice Department notified Pence that it would not be seeking charges in the matter. “[They] found that it was an innocent mistake.”
In Clinton’s case, she and her aides also largely cooperated in the FBI’s investigation, according to the Justice Department’s inspector general.
In his report, the inspector general said “the FBI obtained more than 30 devices” from Clinton and her aides, and “received consent to search Clinton-related communications on most of these devices.” Among those 30 devices were two of Clinton’s three private email servers, after the third server had been “discarded” years earlier “and, thus, the FBI was never able to access it for review,” the inspector general’s report said.
According to the indictment against Trump, the former president privately expressed admiration for how Clinton’s lawyer handled her case, saying “she didn’t get in any trouble because,” as Trump described it, her lawyer took responsibility for deleting 30,000 emails that Clinton’s legal team determined were personal in nature and not subject to government review.
But, according to the Justice Department’s inspector general, the FBI was actually able to retrieve a majority of those deleted emails through the many devices it obtained and through other means.
As for Biden, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Biden’s retention of classified documents from his time as vice president in the Obama administration has yet to announce his findings. But Biden’s attorneys have insisted that from “the outset of this matter, the President directed his personal attorneys to fully cooperate with the Department of Justice.”
When Biden’s personal attorneys first found classified documents in private offices associated with Biden, they said they notified the National Archives and Records Administration, and they helped the government retrieve them, with one of Biden’s attorneys writing in an email at the time, “[W]e are prepared to facilitate whatever access you need to accomplish NARA taking custody of whatever materials it deems appropriate.”
And when the Justice Department then wanted to search Biden’s home in Delaware, Biden and his attorneys granted “full access” to the president’s residence, where investigators found additional documents marked classified, his lawyers said in a public statement at the time.
“If Trump had done the same, there would have been no grand jury, there probably would have been no search warrant, and [he] probably would have avoided a potential criminal problem,” former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman previously told ABC News.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
