(MIAMI) — Miami officials said Monday that they are “ready” for the historic arraignment of former President Donald Trump, after he was charged with 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
“We are prepared for a variety of crowd sizes,” Mayor Francis Suarez told reporters. “We have the ability to increase our capacity if necessary.”
Trump, who has said he is innocent and will plead not guilty, appeared to encourage supporters to come to Miami for his court hearing, writing on social media last week: “SEE YOU IN MIAMI ON TUESDAY!!!”
It wasn’t immediately clear how many pro-Trump people might come to Florida, though organizers claimed to be busing in hundreds. Trump made a similar call after he was indicted in New York City, though few heeded that. (He pleaded not guilty in that case.)
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonpartisan think tank that tracks and analyzes online hate speech, disinformation and extremism, said an analysis of digital behavior found “some Trump supporters expressed intentions or shared plans to protest in Miami and New York City, but at this time, there is no indication that large scale mobilization is likely to occur.”
The group reiterated that view on Monday while noting a possible gathering in Miami seemed to be gaining momentum — “without violent rhetoric attached.”
Some of Trump’s supporters have been more pointed in their comments about him needing literal defenders.
“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said last week. “And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the [National Rifle Association]. That’s not a threat. That’s a public service announcement.”
On Monday, Manuel Morales, Miami’s police chief, expressed confidence that any protests would remain peaceful.
He said the police were preparing for a crowd size from 5,000 to 50,000.
“We’re taking this event extremely serious,” he said. “We know there’s the potential for things taking a turn for the worse, but that’s not the Miami way.”
Specific security plans were not disclosed.
Morales said that officers were mindful of social media posts that echoed Trump’s rhetoric about the indictment and the special counsel prosecuting him but said there have been no specific threats.
The U.S. Secret Service has been preparing for Trump’s appearance as well.
In coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement authorities, the agency has worked to streamline Trump’s movements and minimize the number of locations and the distance he needs to move within the court complex to help secure his appearance.
“While operational security precludes us from going into specifics, the Secret Service will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
External courthouse security is being provided by the Federal Protective Service, which supervises all federal building grounds.
A noticeable increase in both local and federal law enforcement has been seen around the courthouse.
“We continuously review the measures in place and take appropriate steps to ensure the integrity of the federal judicial process,” the Marshals said in a statement last week, in part.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges in an investigation into his handling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.
The indictment comes after more than 100 documents with classified markings were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022.
Trump was 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.
The indictment of Trump, who has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety, is unprecedented for a former president.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 12, 9:58 PM EDT
Magistrate judge denies press coalition request for video, audio of Tuesday’s proceedings
A federal magistrate judge has denied a request from a coalition of press outlets, including ABC News, seeking video and audio access to Tuesday’s historic initial appearance and arraignment of former President Donald Trump as he appears to face federal criminal charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The order confirms that Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman will preside over Trump’s court appearance, and he assures the court reporter will provide a same-day turnaround of the transcript from the proceedings.
Goodman notes in the order he believes the media coalition’s request also asks him to rule on all future proceedings related to the case against Trump, which he says he leaves open to the discretion of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for further appeals from media outlets.
“My involvement in this case will almost certainly end tomorrow,” Goodman writes in the order. “So I do not feel it is appropriate for me to rule on what happens in future proceedings when I am not the district judge and when I will have no involvement whatsoever.”
Jun 12, 9:33 PM EDT
How serious are obstruction charges?
Legal experts say that of all the federal charges Donald Trump and his aide Walter Nauta face in the investigation into the alleged mishandling of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious.
Claire Finkelstein, the founder and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL) at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, said 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.
Jun 12, 9:27 PM EDT
Trump says he’ll plead not guilty
On the eve of his Tuesday arraignment in Miami, former President Donald Trump made rounds across key conservative media audiences and spoke out against the charges.
Trump told talk show host Howie Carr he would plead “not guilty” at his arraignment and not make a statement during his court appearance on Tuesday.
“I just say, ‘not guilty.’ I didn’t do anything wrong. I did nothing wrong. Presidential Records Act. It’s not even a criminal event. There’s no criminality here. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said.
Trump also slammed his former attorney general, Bill Barr, who over the weekend had criticized Trump for his alleged mishandling of presidential documents.
“Bill Barr is a failure in so many different ways. But he was a coward. And he didn’t do his job,” the former president said.
Jun 12, 4:45 PM EDT
Schumer calls for supporters, critics to ‘maintain the peace’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on both supporters and critics of former President Donald Trump to “maintain the peace” as Trump heads to federal court on Tuesday.
“This case must be allowed to play out through the legal process without outside political or ideological interference,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday. “I encourage both supporters and critics of Donald Trump to maintain the peace and let the justice system do its work.”
Republican leader Mitch McConnell has not made any public comments on the indictment since it was handed up on Thursday.
Jun 12, 3:00 PM EDT
Trump lands in Florida
Former President Donald Trump has landed in Florida ahead of his Tuesday afternoon appearance in federal court in Miami.
Trump is spending Monday night at his golf club in Doral, Florida.
Jun 12, 2:31 PM EDT
Miami police prepared for crowds of 5,000 to 50,000
Preparations are underway in Miami ahead of former President Donald Trump’s Tuesday appearance in federal court, city officials said at a news conference Monday.
“We are working very closely with our federal, state and local partners to make sure we have a comprehensive approach” to maintain “peace and order,” but also to allow people the right to express themselves, Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez encouraged any demonstrators to be peaceful, adding that officials are prepared for large crowds outside the courthouse.
Jun 12, 1:31 PM EDT
McCarthy defends keeping docs in bathroom: ‘A bathroom door locks’
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy went to bat for former President Donald Trump during his first appearance in the Capitol since the 37-count indictment against Trump was handed up in Florida last week.
Asked by reporters whether it was a good look for Trump to have stored boxes of documents in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom, McCarthy responded, “I don’t know. Is it a good picture to have boxes in a garage that opens all the time?” McCarthy said, drawing comparisons to the circumstances surrounding documents found in President Joe Biden’s possession.
“A bathroom door locks,” McCarthy added.
McCarthy repeatedly slammed the FBI and Department of Justice for failing to indict Biden, falsely equating the crimes Trump allegedly committed with Biden’s own handling of classified documents.
“I think President Trump has not been treated equally like everybody else in this process,” McCarthy said.
“You raid one house and you don’t raid the other — that’s a little different, and that’s not fair,” he said.
McCarthy said he has not spoken to Trump since the indictment was handed up. He said he’s read “a lot of portions” of the indictment but not the entire 49-page document that was unsealed Friday.
Jun 12, 12:17 PM EDT
Trump en route to Florida
Former President Donald Trump has departed Newark Liberty International Airport to head to Florida ahead of his federal court appearance in Miami on Tuesday.
Jun 12, 11:12 AM EDT
Trump leaves Bedminster club to head to Florida
Former President Donald Trump has left his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to begin his travel day to Florida.
Trump is expected to board his plane at Newark Liberty International Airport to take him to Florida, one day before his court appearance, to meet with potential legal counsel for in-person interviews, sources told ABC News.
The hunt for new counsel comes after Trump’s attorneys on this case, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned on Friday, just hours after Trump was informed of the indictment.
Sources told ABC News that it’s unlikely Trump will have a full team set in time for Tuesday’s court appearance, but he’s expected to have attorney Todd Blanche, who is representing Trump in the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, by his side. Attorney Chris Kise, who is based in Florida and working on other matters on behalf of the former president, is likely to also be in attendance, but plans were not solidified as of Sunday evening, sources said.
Jun 11, 9:47 PM EDT
Trump plans to head to Florida Monday, sources say
Donald Trump is expected to head to Florida midday Monday ahead of his first appearance Tuesday before a federal judge regarding the 37 counts he faces from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.
Jun 11, 6:24 PM EDT
Miami mayor to speak Monday on security for Trump’s expected court appearance
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is expected to hold a press conference Monday regarding the city’s “preparations, security measures and traffic impacts in anticipation of former President Donald Trump’s presence in the city of Miami on Tuesday.”
The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will take place at the Miami Police Department, according to a press release.
-ABC News’ Victor Oquendo
Jun 11, 3:38 PM EDT
Trump plans to speak from NJ after arraignment in Florida
The Trump campaign on Sunday announced that the former president is scheduled to deliver remarks at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey at 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, after his scheduled court appearance in Florida earlier that afternoon where he will be arraigned on his 37-count indictment.
After Trump was arraigned in his criminal case in New York City in April, and pleaded not guilty, he similarly addressed supporters — that time from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim
Jun 11, 2:18 PM EDT
Graham insists Trump is politically ‘stronger’ after indictment’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., argued on ABC’s This Week that Donald Trump is “stronger” after last week’s indictment and added that the charges don’t impact his support for the former president.
“I think Donald Trump is stronger today politically than he was before. … We’ll have an election, and we’ll have a trial, but I promise you this: Most Americans believe, most Republicans believe, that the law is used as a weapon against Donald Trump,” Graham said in a testy interview with “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Graham said he did not approve of the former president’s handling of classified information but insisted Trump did not deserve to be charged under the Espionage Act.
Jun 09, 5:27 PM EDT
GOP Rep. calls for an ‘eye for an eye’
Following the unsealing of Trump’s indictment, GOP lawmakers continued reacting to the news this afternoon and one included an incendiary remark.
“We have now reached a war phase. Eye for an eye,” Rep. Andy Biggs, a Freedom Caucus member and top Trump ally, tweeted.
Another Trump ally, Rep. Clay Higgins, tweeted that “President Trump said he has “been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors. Hold. rPOTUS has this. Buckle up. 1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all.”
-ABC News’ Gabe Ferris
Jun 09, 5:06 PM EDT
Schumer, Jeffries release joint statement
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement Friday, “No one is above the law – including Donald Trump.”
“This indictment must now play out through the legal process, without any outside political or ideological interference,” they said. “We encourage Mr. Trump’s supporters and critics alike to let this case proceed peacefully in court.”
Jun 09, 4:13 PM EDT
McCarthy says Trump indictment ‘going to disrupt this nation’
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News he believes the indictment is “going to disrupt this nation because it goes to the core of equal justice for all.”
“This is a very dark day in America when you think about what they’re trying to indict President Trump on,” McCarthy said, falsely equating the crimes Trump allegedly committed with President Joe Biden’s own handling of classified documents.
McCarthy said House Republicans “are not going to stand for it,” saying he’s already talked to House Oversight Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan “of things that we can do to ensure equal justice.”
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jun 09, 3:29 PM EDT
Trump to appear in court Tuesday
Former President Donald Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, are set to appear in court at 3 p.m. Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami, according to a spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith.
The indictment was returned Thursday and unsealed on Friday, according to his office.
Trump is expected to arrive at and depart from the Miami courthouse Friday via secure private access points that would make it impossible for the public or journalists to see him.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, “While operational security precludes us from going into specifics, the Secret Service will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former President’s continued safety. 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.
“Miami police will also help Tuesday with “personnel, resources, detours, and/or road closures,” Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said in a statement. “We’re committed to protecting everyone’s first amendment right and will continue to serve our residents, business owners, and visitors while maintaining the safety of our community.”
Jun 09, 3:14 PM EDT
Special counsel speaks out
Special counsel Jack Smith said Friday that he invites everyone to read the indictment “in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.”
“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical for the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” he said.
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” Smith said. “Applying those laws, collecting facts, that’s what determines the outcome of an investigation.”
Jun 09, 2:43 PM EDT
Trump to writer: ‘Secret information … look at this’
In May 2021, prosecutors allege former President Donald Trump brought some of his boxes to his Bedminster, New Jersey, property. On July 21, 2021, Trump, before and during an interview for his upcoming book, showed the writer what he called “secret information” regarding national security, prosecutors said.
“Well, with [the Senior Military Official] — uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack [Country A]. Isn’t it amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Trump said, according to prosecutors. “They presented me this–this is off the record, but—they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him.”
“Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump said, according to prosecutors.
“See as president, I could have declassified it,” Trump said, according to prosecutors.
“Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” Trump said, according to the indictment.
Jun 09, 2:35 PM EDT
After telling FBI he’s an ‘open book,’ Trump fled Mar-a-Lago with boxes of records: Prosecutors
The indictment alleged that in June 2022, former President Donald Trump, after meeting with officials from the FBI and declaring himself an “open book,” flew from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to his Bedminster, New Jersey, property with boxes of records that had been packed on his plane earlier that day.
Nauta and “others” had loaded the boxes, prosecutors said.
Jun 09, 2:31 PM EDT
Details revealed in indictment
The indictment alleged that, after the FBI subpoenaed former President Donald Trump, he “endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued retention of classified documents by” actions including: suggesting his attorney falsely tell the FBI and grand jury that he didn’t have documents responsive to the subpoena; directing aide Walt Nauta to move boxes of documents to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI and grand jury; and causing a false certification to be submitted to the FBI and grand jury saying all documents were provided “while knowing that, in fact, not all such documents has been produced.”
The indictment noted that between January 2021 and August 2022, Mar-a-Lago hosted more than 150 social events, including weddings and fundraisers “that together drew tens of thousands of guests.”
The indictment mentions five of Trump’s statements in 2016, when still a candidate for president, including when he said in August 2016 that “in my administration I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information.”
According to the indictment, on June 2, an attorney for Trump went through the boxes in the storage room, removed 38 documents with classified markings, placed them in a redwood folder and sealed it with clear duct tape.
Trump allegedly asked, “Did you find anything?…. Is it bad? Good?” and they discussed what to do with the documents, according to prosecutors.
Trump’s attorney said at that point Trump “made a funny motion as though- well okay why don’t you take them with you to your hotel room and if there’s anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out. And that was the motion that he made. He didn’t say that.”
According to the indictment, Trump and Nauta misled one of the Trump attorneys by moving boxes that contained documents with classified markings so that the attorney would not find the documents and produce them to a federal grand jury.
The indictment details how Nauta allegedly lied to FBI agents in May 2022 when he claimed to have no knowledge of the classified documents being brought to Mar-a-Lago.
Jun 08, 9:19 PM EDT
What 2nd Trump indictment could mean for GOP White House race: Analysis
With former President Donald Trump now facing a second indictment, this time on federal charges, according to sources, it’s a turn of events that could shake up the Republican primary field as Trump makes a third run for the White House.
The aftermath of Trump’s first indictment in New York connection to an alleged hush money scheme could be an indication of what is to come. Before his first indictment, Trump pledged to continue on with his presidential bid despite charges and even argued that cases could give his campaign a boost. Trump wasn’t wrong.
In fact, he still outpaces his GOP rivals in recent polling.
Another boon to his campaign, the fact that Republicans by and large rallied around him after his first indictment — even most of those challenging him in the Republican presidential primary.
But the field of candidates is more crowded now, comprised of more candidates willing to clearly criticize Trump.
-ABC News’ Averi Harper
Jun 08, 9:07 PM EDT
Federal indictment expected to be ‘speaking indictment’: Sources
The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump is expected to be a “speaking indictment” that will lay out chapter and verse the government’s case to the public, according to sources.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
Jun 08, 8:56 PM EDT
Trump team anticipated indictment for several days: Sources
Former President Donald Trump’s team has been anticipating a federal indictment for the past several days, sources said.
Sources said his team is already planning a trip down to Miami and is thinking of holding a campaign event around this indictment.
-ABC News’ John Santucci
Jun 08, 8:49 PM EDT
DOJ, White House decline to comment
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office declined to comment Thursday evening on Trump’s announcement he was informed of his indictment.
White House Spokesperson Ian Sams also declined to comment on Trump saying his attorneys have been informed he has been indicted in the classified documents investigation.
Sams referred ABC News to the DOJ, which he said “conducts its criminal investigations independently.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Alexander Mallin
Jun 08, 8:37 PM EDT
Trump charged in ‘rocket docket’ court — and why that could matter
Former President Donald Trump will face charges in the Southern District of Florida, a venue whose reputation for swift proceedings has earned it “rocket docket” status — a colloquialism that reflects its strict adherence to the speedy trial clock.
Walter Norkin, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida, explains why that might be notable.
“The Southern District of Florida is one of the few districts in the country that operates under a ‘rocket docket’ and, in distinction from the District of Columbia, you can expect a criminal case to be resolved within six months of an indictment issuing,” Norkin told ABC News. “The judges in the Southern District of Florida adhere very strictly to the Speedy Trial clock, which, with limited exceptions, requires trial or conviction to occur within 70 days.”
As a strategic matter, according to Norkin, the special counsel may have chosen this particular venue as a means to circumvent that inclination as prosecutors face the prospect of “certain policy considerations that take effect as an election nears.”
“To the extent a defense strategy would be to delay trial,” Norkin continued, “they will have a heavier burden executing that plan in Southern District of Florida than they would in another district.”
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman
Jun 08, 8:19 PM EDT
What an indictment means for Trump’s presidential bid
Former President Donald Trump can still be elected president again — even if he is convicted — experts tell ABC News.
But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, the experts told ABC News after Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in March.
Jun 08, 8:12 PM EDT
Who is special counsel Jack Smith?
Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Jack Smith in November 2022 as special counsel to oversee the DOJ’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified materials after leaving office.
Former colleagues have characterized Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor and former head of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, as an aggressive prosecutor who would not shy away from taking on difficult prosecutorial judgments, with the background and temperament that make him a strong selection for the high-profile role.
Jun 08, 7:57 PM EDT
What to expect at Tuesday’s arraignment
When the former president arrives at Miami federal court on Tuesday, it will mark an extraordinary moment for the country: Trump will be formally placed under arrest by the very government he was once elected to lead.
Once he is arrested, Trump will be booked and processed as a federal defendant and then appear before a judge for an arraignment.
Trump, or one of his attorneys, will enter a not guilty plea, touching off the prosecution of the former president.
The courthouse has spent the last several days preparing for Trump’s arrival, but there is no outward sign Thursday night that he is days away from appearing.
Prior to news of the indictment, members of the special counsel’s team were seen going into and out of court and the room where a grand jury has been hearing evidence.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Jun 08, 7:51 PM EDT
Trump calls investigation a ‘hoax’
Former President Donald Trump posted on his social network Truth Social Thursday evening that his lawyers have been informed he’s been indicted.
He called the investigation a “hoax” and said he’s an “innocent man.”
Trump said he has been summoned to appear at the Miami federal courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump’s campaign sent out a fundraising email following news of the indictment.
(NEW YORK) — After announcing his presidential bid last week, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum appeared on “GMA3” on Monday where he criticized the Biden administration, touted the importance of “innovation, not regulation” — and briefly addressed Donald Trump’s unprecedented second indictment.
Burgum, who has been campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, said on “GMA3” that he’s running for the White House because “the Biden administration has been 180 degrees in the wrong direction.” The governor, though popular in his own state, enters the national stage lesser known than competitors like the former president or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A former software executive, Burgum reiterated the three pillars of his platform: the economy, energy and national security.
“The reason we wanted to run for president is simple. We think there’s an opportunity with the federal government focusing on what the federal government is supposed to do … improve the lives of every American,” he said.
“The economy, inflation, taxes, spending” are “issues that we know that are important to most Americans,” he said, as is security at home and abroad.
“The world right now is growing increasingly unstable,” he said. “I never thought I’d tell my kids that we might be looking at World War III. But national security, border security: These are issues that are of great importance.”
Burgum was also asked about his thoughts on artificial intelligence, given his background. He said the U.S. must continue to focus on it, since innovating will be key.
“Technology is changing every job, every company in every industry, at a very rapid pace,” he said, later adding, “Anybody that says that we ought to stop developing AI would be like saying back during the 1980s that we should stop trying to win the nuclear arms race against Russia. This is going to be an important tool. America has the lead. We’ve got to continue to fight for the lead.”
When pressed on the Republican primary front-runner, former President Trump, Burgum again stayed cleared of specifically saying his name. The governor has yet to say Trump’s name since his campaign launch on Wednesday in Fargo, North Dakota.
However, Burgum did say he would “support whoever the Republican candidate is going forward in 2024” and, like other Republicans, suggested conservative voters think Trump’s 37-count federal indictment is unfair.
“One thing I can tell you from talking to the voters [is] that people are very concerned about a double standard in this country,” Burgum said. “They’re concerned that if we have lost trust in our institutions, if we don’t believe that the [Department of Justice] is going to enforce the laws equally between the two political parties, that’s even more serious than the charges themselves.”
Trump has been charged in Florida with willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice, among other counts, and will be arraigned on Tuesday. He has said he is innocent.
Prosecutors outlined in Trump’s indictment how he allegedly held onto government secrets after his presidency and resisted efforts to return them — while sometimes sharing that sensitive information with people not authorized to see it.
Burgum previously told WMUR’s Arielle Mitropoulos during a campaign stop in New Hampshire: “It’s great that we live in a country where people are innocent until they’re proven guilty so the courts can play that out.”
He declined then to say whether he thought Trump should drop out of the race, saying he believes that should be left up to the voters.
Burgum is so far polling at the bottom of the GOP field, but he told WMUR that he has always come from behind.
“When you start out, you start out by just saying, ‘Hey, we got to focus on making sure people know who we are’. And that’s what we’re going to be doing is working hard to get out across Iowa and New Hampshire and make sure people understand our story and the issues that we’re talking about,” he said.
In a bid for more name recognition in those early nominating states, Burgum has made his first TV and radio candidate ad buy, spending more than $3 million in the Iowa and New Hampshire TV markets over the next few weeks, according to his campaign.
In one new ad released this week, Burgum describes his agenda with three action items: “First, fix this crazy economy. Second, unleash American energy production. Third, rebuild the military to win the cold war with China.”
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats are celebrating Thursday’s Supreme Court decision bolstering the Voting Rights Act — and the power of minority voters — which they say also bolsters the party’s chances to take back the House from Republicans next year.
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that Alabama’s congressional map violates Section 2 of the VRA by packing many of the state’s Black voters into one congressional district, thereby diluting their power to elect lawmakers relative to their share of the overall population.
The high court affirmed a lower court finding that the current map, which only has one majority-Black district, disenfranchised African Americans, who make up more than a quarter of the population in the state.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both appointed by Republicans, joined the court’s three liberal-leaning justices in the majority — a surprise to most observers, in part because Roberts authored a 2013 opinion invalidating the VRA’s Section 4.
As a result of Thursday’s ruling, Alabama will likely have to draw another majority-Black district, which Democrats see as an opportunity to win another House seat. They are similarly optimistic of victories in cases regarding congressional maps in Georgia and Louisiana that are currently making their way through the courts.
“Even though it’s really only going to amount to one seat in Alabama, it’s a major boon for Democrats going into 2024 and the House elections,” said one House Democratic strategist, who was not authorized to speak on the record about the ruling.
“It feels great on a democracy level that people are not going to be silenced,” this strategist said, adding, “On the other on hand, electorally, you can’t help but be happy about it. It’s always a good thing when you’re going to know you’re going to pick up more seats at the end of the day.”
Democrats are eager to retake the House after the GOP won a narrow five-seat majority in the 2022 midterms. Eighteen Republicans hold districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020, and Democrats are already targeting several seats in California and New York.
Party strategists and outside experts now say the ruling in Alabama and the cases in Louisiana — where Black people make up a third of the population — and in Georgia, which has a similar share of Black residents, could net the party at least three more seats, potentially offsetting a new map Republicans are set to draw in North Carolina that is anticipated to give the GOP a hefty advantage there.
A federal judge in Georgia on Thursday asked asked both parties in the case over that state’s map to offer supplemental materials after the Supreme Court ruling.
“The landmark decision in Allen v. Milligan could reverberate across the Deep South, leading to the creation of new Black-majority, strongly Democratic seats in multiple states,” election analyst Dave Wasserman wrote in The Cook Political Report.
Another case regarding South Carolina’s map could also be a boon to Democrats. The case is based on the 14th and 15th Amendments, rather than the VRA, and will not be heard until the Supreme Court’s next term, but Democrats hope the court will rule similarly in that case as it did in the Alabama decision.
Democrats told ABC News they were shocked by the ruling, saying they were not expecting such a result from a court dominated by six conservative-leaning jurists.
“I think Democrats knew we’d presented a good case, but when the deck is kind of stacked against you, it can’t help but be a little shocking,” said the House Democratic strategist.
Antjuan Seawright, another Democratic strategist, was blunt: “I wouldn’t have bet anything I have on this decision going this way, to be honest with you.”
But, in light of the court’s position, operatives also urged Democrats not to rest on their laurels and instead find other states where they can file lawsuits over allegations of racial gerrymandering.
One state mentioned was Texas, where Democrats said similar rulings could produce at least five new Democratic-leaning districts. A tracker maintained by the Brennan Center for Justice indicates nine federal cases in Texas could be impacted by the Thursday decision.
FiveThirtyEight forecast what the map changes in each state could look like.
“This also shines a light on how important challenging the system continues to be. We can’t just roll over and give up. Had this fight not gone on to this point, I’m not sure we would have gotten this result,” said Seawright.
Roberts, in his majority opinion for the Supreme Court, acknowledged concerns raised by Alabama Republicans that consideration of race in the drawing of election maps may itself “elevate race in the allocation of political power” but concluded “a faithful application of our precedents and a fair reading of the record before us do not bear them out here.”
Conservatives said they were disappointed by the ruling — with Alabama GOP Chair John Wahl saying the state would comply with the decision “regardless of our disagreement.”
Thursday’s ruling bucks a pattern in recent years of Democrats struggling to make changes to voting rights and gerrymandering.
Democrats were unable to pass sprawling legislation combating gerrymandering and expanding access to the ballot when they controlled Congress from 2021 until earlier this year, because they lacked enough votes to either overcome Senate filibusters or to change the rules in the chamber. And activists have grumbled that the party did not put enough muscle to get the bill over the finish line. That compounded past setbacks such as the 2013 Supreme Court decision that removed the VRA requirement for states with histories of voter restrictions to get federal approval before changing their voting laws.
Now, though, Democrats are voicing hope that Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will at least serve as an obstacle to what they view as the most extreme racial gerrymanders that state legislatures can pursue moving forward.
“Representation matters,” Seawright said, “and what this does is just solidify the position of that.”
(MIAMI) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to head to Florida midday Monday ahead of his first appearance Tuesday before a federal judge regarding the 37 counts he faces from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, sources familiar with the planning tell ABC News.
For the better part of the weekend, in addition to making two campaign trips in Georgia and North Carolina, the former president and his close allies have been working the phones in search of legal representation.
Trump is expected to head to Florida a day before his court appearance to meet with potential legal counsel for in-person interviews, the sources said.
Trump was hit with a sweeping 37-count indictment from the special counsel’s office Thursday, alleging 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 unsealed the indictment Friday against the former president and his aide Walt Nauta in connection with his handling of government documents.
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.”
The hunt for new counsel comes after Trump’s attorneys on this case, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned on Friday — just hours after Trump was informed of the indictment.
Sources told ABC News it’s unlikely Trump will have a full team set in time for Tuesday’s court appearance, but he’s expected to have attorney Todd Blanche, who is representing Trump in the Manhattan District Attorney’s probe into hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, by his side. Attorney Chris Kise, who is based in Florida and working on other matters on behalf of the former president, is likely to also be in attendance, but plans were not solidified as of Sunday evening, sources said.
Sources described the former president throughout the last few days as having “fits of anger” over the charges brought by the special counsel, and he’s said to be particularly obsessed with the images contained within the indictment, many of which were taken by his loyal aide, Nauta. Nauta was seen Saturday right by Trump’s side during campaign events the former president had.
A spokesperson for Trump declined to comment.
A former attorney for Trump who no longer works for him said right now, Trump needs “seasoned trial attorneys” familiar with this Florida court. “He needs lawyers that will litigate the case in court and not in the case of public opinion,” the former Trump attorney told ABC News. “Others can do that. The lead defense lawyers need to be focusing on the courtroom. It’s not a TV studio.”
A shake-up of attorneys is nothing new for Trump, who changed legal counsel multiple times throughout his four years in the White House.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges in an investigation into his handling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.
The indictment comes after more than 100 documents with classified markings were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022.
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.
The indictment of Trump, who has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety, is unprecedented for a former president.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 11, 9:47 PM EDT
Trump plans to head to Florida Monday, sources say
Donald Trump is expected to head to Florida midday Monday ahead of his first appearance Tuesday before a federal judge regarding the 37 counts he faces from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.
Jun 11, 6:24 PM EDT
Miami mayor to speak Monday on security for Trump’s expected court appearance
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is expected to hold a press conference Monday regarding the city’s “preparations, security measures and traffic impacts in anticipation of former President Donald Trump’s presence in the city of Miami on Tuesday.”
The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will take place at the Miami Police Department, according to a press release.
-ABC News’ Victor Oquendo
Jun 11, 3:38 PM EDT
Trump plans to speak from NJ after arraignment in Florida
The Trump campaign on Sunday announced that the former president is scheduled to deliver remarks at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey at 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, after his scheduled court appearance in Florida earlier that afternoon where he will be arraigned on his 37-count indictment.
After Trump was arraigned in his criminal case in New York City in April, and pleaded not guilty, he similarly addressed supporters — that time from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim
Jun 11, 2:18 PM EDT
Graham insists Trump is politically ‘stronger’ after indictment’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., argued on ABC’s This Week that Donald Trump is “stronger” after last week’s indictment and added that the charges don’t impact his support for the former president.
“I think Donald Trump is stronger today politically than he was before. … We’ll have an election, and we’ll have a trial, but I promise you this: Most Americans believe, most Republicans believe, that the law is used as a weapon against Donald Trump,” Graham said in a testy interview with “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Graham said he did not approve of the former president’s handling of classified information but insisted Trump did not deserve to be charged under the Espionage Act.
Jun 09, 5:27 PM EDT
GOP Rep. calls for an ‘eye for an eye’
Following the unsealing of Trump’s indictment, GOP lawmakers continued reacting to the news this afternoon and one included an incendiary remark.
“We have now reached a war phase. Eye for an eye,” Rep. Andy Biggs, a Freedom Caucus member and top Trump ally, tweeted.
Another Trump ally, Rep. Clay Higgins, tweeted that “President Trump said he has “been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors. Hold. rPOTUS has this. Buckle up. 1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all.”
-ABC News’ Gabe Ferris
Jun 09, 5:06 PM EDT
Schumer, Jeffries release joint statement
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement Friday, “No one is above the law – including Donald Trump.”
“This indictment must now play out through the legal process, without any outside political or ideological interference,” they said. “We encourage Mr. Trump’s supporters and critics alike to let this case proceed peacefully in court.”
Jun 09, 4:13 PM EDT
McCarthy says Trump indictment ‘going to disrupt this nation’
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News he believes the indictment is “going to disrupt this nation because it goes to the core of equal justice for all.”
“This is a very dark day in America when you think about what they’re trying to indict President Trump on,” McCarthy said, falsely equating the crimes Trump allegedly committed with President Joe Biden’s own handling of classified documents.
McCarthy said House Republicans “are not going to stand for it,” saying he’s already talked to House Oversight Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan “of things that we can do to ensure equal justice.”
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jun 09, 3:29 PM EDT
Trump to appear in court Tuesday
Former President Donald Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, are set to appear in court at 3 p.m. Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami, according to a spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith.
The indictment was returned Thursday and unsealed on Friday, according to his office.
Trump is expected to arrive at and depart from the Miami courthouse Friday via secure private access points that would make it impossible for the public or journalists to see him.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, “While operational security precludes us from going into specifics, the Secret Service will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former President’s continued safety. 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.
“Miami police will also help Tuesday with “personnel, resources, detours, and/or road closures,” Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said in a statement. “We’re committed to protecting everyone’s first amendment right and will continue to serve our residents, business owners, and visitors while maintaining the safety of our community.”
Jun 09, 3:14 PM EDT
Special counsel speaks out
Special counsel Jack Smith said Friday that he invites everyone to read the indictment “in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.”
“The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical for the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” he said.
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” Smith said. “Applying those laws, collecting facts, that’s what determines the outcome of an investigation.”
Jun 09, 2:43 PM EDT
Trump to writer: ‘Secret information … look at this’
In May 2021, prosecutors allege former President Donald Trump brought some of his boxes to his Bedminster, New Jersey, property. On July 21, 2021, Trump, before and during an interview for his upcoming book, showed the writer what he called “secret information” regarding national security, prosecutors said.
“Well, with [the Senior Military Official] — uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack [Country A]. Isn’t it amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Trump said, according to prosecutors. “They presented me this–this is off the record, but—they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him.”
“Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump said, according to prosecutors.
“See as president, I could have declassified it,” Trump said, according to prosecutors.
“Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” Trump said, according to the indictment.
Jun 09, 2:35 PM EDT
After telling FBI he’s an ‘open book,’ Trump fled Mar-a-Lago with boxes of records: Prosecutors
The indictment alleged that in June 2022, former President Donald Trump, after meeting with officials from the FBI and declaring himself an “open book,” flew from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to his Bedminster, New Jersey, property with boxes of records that had been packed on his plane earlier that day.
Nauta and “others” had loaded the boxes, prosecutors said.
Jun 09, 2:31 PM EDT
Details revealed in indictment
The indictment alleged that, after the FBI subpoenaed former President Donald Trump, he “endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued retention of classified documents by” actions including: suggesting his attorney falsely tell the FBI and grand jury that he didn’t have documents responsive to the subpoena; directing aide Walt Nauta to move boxes of documents to conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI and grand jury; and causing a false certification to be submitted to the FBI and grand jury saying all documents were provided “while knowing that, in fact, not all such documents has been produced.”
The indictment noted that between January 2021 and August 2022, Mar-a-Lago hosted more than 150 social events, including weddings and fundraisers “that together drew tens of thousands of guests.”
The indictment mentions five of Trump’s statements in 2016, when still a candidate for president, including when he said in August 2016 that “in my administration I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information.”
According to the indictment, on June 2, an attorney for Trump went through the boxes in the storage room, removed 38 documents with classified markings, placed them in a redwood folder and sealed it with clear duct tape.
Trump allegedly asked, “Did you find anything?…. Is it bad? Good?” and they discussed what to do with the documents, according to prosecutors.
Trump’s attorney said at that point Trump “made a funny motion as though- well okay why don’t you take them with you to your hotel room and if there’s anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out. And that was the motion that he made. He didn’t say that.”
According to the indictment, Trump and Nauta misled one of the Trump attorneys by moving boxes that contained documents with classified markings so that the attorney would not find the documents and produce them to a federal grand jury.
The indictment details how Nauta allegedly lied to FBI agents in May 2022 when he claimed to have no knowledge of the classified documents being brought to Mar-a-Lago.
Jun 08, 9:19 PM EDT
What 2nd Trump indictment could mean for GOP White House race: Analysis
With former President Donald Trump now facing a second indictment, this time on federal charges, according to sources, it’s a turn of events that could shake up the Republican primary field as Trump makes a third run for the White House.
The aftermath of Trump’s first indictment in New York connection to an alleged hush money scheme could be an indication of what is to come. Before his first indictment, Trump pledged to continue on with his presidential bid despite charges and even argued that cases could give his campaign a boost. Trump wasn’t wrong.
In fact, he still outpaces his GOP rivals in recent polling.
Another boon to his campaign, the fact that Republicans by and large rallied around him after his first indictment — even most of those challenging him in the Republican presidential primary.
But the field of candidates is more crowded now, comprised of more candidates willing to clearly criticize Trump.
-ABC News’ Averi Harper
Jun 08, 9:07 PM EDT
Federal indictment expected to be ‘speaking indictment’: Sources
The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump is expected to be a “speaking indictment” that will lay out chapter and verse the government’s case to the public, according to sources.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
Jun 08, 8:56 PM EDT
Trump team anticipated indictment for several days: Sources
Former President Donald Trump’s team has been anticipating a federal indictment for the past several days, sources said.
Sources said his team is already planning a trip down to Miami and is thinking of holding a campaign event around this indictment.
-ABC News’ John Santucci
Jun 08, 8:49 PM EDT
DOJ, White House decline to comment
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office declined to comment Thursday evening on Trump’s announcement he was informed of his indictment.
White House Spokesperson Ian Sams also declined to comment on Trump saying his attorneys have been informed he has been indicted in the classified documents investigation.
Sams referred ABC News to the DOJ, which he said “conducts its criminal investigations independently.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Alexander Mallin
Jun 08, 8:37 PM EDT
Trump charged in ‘rocket docket’ court — and why that could matter
Former President Donald Trump will face charges in the Southern District of Florida, a venue whose reputation for swift proceedings has earned it “rocket docket” status — a colloquialism that reflects its strict adherence to the speedy trial clock.
Walter Norkin, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida, explains why that might be notable.
“The Southern District of Florida is one of the few districts in the country that operates under a ‘rocket docket’ and, in distinction from the District of Columbia, you can expect a criminal case to be resolved within six months of an indictment issuing,” Norkin told ABC News. “The judges in the Southern District of Florida adhere very strictly to the Speedy Trial clock, which, with limited exceptions, requires trial or conviction to occur within 70 days.”
As a strategic matter, according to Norkin, the special counsel may have chosen this particular venue as a means to circumvent that inclination as prosecutors face the prospect of “certain policy considerations that take effect as an election nears.”
“To the extent a defense strategy would be to delay trial,” Norkin continued, “they will have a heavier burden executing that plan in Southern District of Florida than they would in another district.”
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman
Jun 08, 8:19 PM EDT
What an indictment means for Trump’s presidential bid
Former President Donald Trump can still be elected president again — even if he is convicted — experts tell ABC News.
But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, the experts told ABC News after Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in March.
Jun 08, 8:12 PM EDT
Who is special counsel Jack Smith?
Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Jack Smith in November 2022 as special counsel to oversee the DOJ’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified materials after leaving office.
Former colleagues have characterized Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor and former head of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, as an aggressive prosecutor who would not shy away from taking on difficult prosecutorial judgments, with the background and temperament that make him a strong selection for the high-profile role.
Jun 08, 7:57 PM EDT
What to expect at Tuesday’s arraignment
When the former president arrives at Miami federal court on Tuesday, it will mark an extraordinary moment for the country: Trump will be formally placed under arrest by the very government he was once elected to lead.
Once he is arrested, Trump will be booked and processed as a federal defendant and then appear before a judge for an arraignment.
Trump, or one of his attorneys, will enter a not guilty plea, touching off the prosecution of the former president.
The courthouse has spent the last several days preparing for Trump’s arrival, but there is no outward sign Thursday night that he is days away from appearing.
Prior to news of the indictment, members of the special counsel’s team were seen going into and out of court and the room where a grand jury has been hearing evidence.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Jun 08, 7:51 PM EDT
Trump calls investigation a ‘hoax’
Former President Donald Trump posted on his social network Truth Social Thursday evening that his lawyers have been informed he’s been indicted.
He called the investigation a “hoax” and said he’s an “innocent man.”
Trump said he has been summoned to appear at the Miami federal courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump’s campaign sent out a fundraising email following news of the indictment.
(WASHINGTON) — Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons on Sunday said he thinks Donald Trump’s federal indictment over handling of classified records creates electoral trouble for the GOP in 2024 — and, at the same time, he admits some worry over Trump’s White House prospects.
“I think the challenges here are for Republicans to explain to the American people why they are confident President Trump should be reelected, given his casual — even callous — mishandling of critical national security documents,” Coons, a close ally of President Joe Biden, told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“This isn’t a minor case of who kept a handful of documents inadvertently,” Coons said. “He’s been charged for knowingly and willingly concealing, that he retained willfully federal documents that were critical to our national defense.”
Trump was indicted on 37 counts in the federal case in Florida, alleging he “willfully” retained documents containing sensitive U.S. secrets and conspired to obstruct justice as the government sought to retrieve the records after Trump left the White House.
This is the first time a former U.S. president has been charged with a federal crime.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said on social media last week that he is innocent. He will be arraigned in Miami on Tuesday. If convicted, he will still continue his bid for the White House in 2024, he’s said.
On “This Week,” Coons referred to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s fiery defense of Trump in an interview earlier on the show and said, “There is one thing that I agree with Sen. Graham on here: Former President Trump is entitled to a presumption of innocence. Under our system, anyone who’s charged with a federal crime is entitled to due process of law, to effective representation and to a presumption of innocence.”
But Coons also stressed that the case against Trump, as laid out by prosecutors, “markedly” differs from two examples Graham raised to say Trump was being treated unequally. Unlike former Vice President Mike Pence and President Joe Biden, both of whom kept classified records while out of office, Trump allegedly stonewalled the government in retrieving the sensitive records they wanted back.
“That’s the basis of this prosecution,” Coons said. “And it is a sad day George for a former president of the United States to be federally criminally charged. But the basis of the rule of law in our democracy is that no man is above the law.”
The Department of Justice has told Pence they won’t bring charges against him, ABC News previously reported. The investigation of Biden’s handling of classified records is ongoing.
Despite what Graham and other Republicans are arguing in the wake of Trump’s indictment, Coons said, “I think there’s no evidence that the Federal Department of Justice has been weaponized.”
Specifically, he said that special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump, previously prosecuted high-profile Democratic politicians including former presidential candidate John Edwards and New York state lawmaker Sheldon Silver. Smith also led the DOJ’s public integrity section.
“Former President Trump has no one to blame but himself for being federally, criminally indicted,” Coons said.
He also criticized Trump and Republican presidential candidates for, he said, villainizing law enforcement rather than reflecting on the concerns for national security raised by Trump’s case.
Biden has not made any comment on Trump’s second indictment, and Coons said Biden’s focus will instead be on getting “real results for the American people” amid his reelection campaign.
When Stephanopoulos pointed to polling showing Biden trailing Trump or the two nearly tied in the presidential race, Coons acknowledged that and said, “I think we should be worried given [Trump’s] conduct and given his record.”
“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,” Coons said.
“Despite some suggestions by his opponents, he’s sharp, he’s skillful and he’s continuing to lead as our president,” he said, “despite the distractions of former President Trump’s rising legal problems.”
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Donald Trump’s most ardent defenders on Capitol Hill, argued Sunday that in the wake of the former president’s unprecedented federal indictment over how he handled government secrets, most conservatives see the case as politically motivated and Trump will emerge “stronger” in his reelection campaign.
Graham, at times testy in his back-and-forth with ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, was repeatedly pressed about the allegations against Trump — including, prosecutors claim in the indictment, Trump at one point being recorded discussing a sensitive record with others while acknowledging it was still classified.
“Donald Trump — you may hate his guts, but he is not a spy,” Graham, R-S.C., said.
Trump has denied wrongdoing. He will be arraigned on Tuesday on 37 charges, including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Graham began his fiery “This Week” interview by saying the case against Trump had parallels with that of Hillary Clinton — though a review of each investigation points to notable differences between them — and he maintained that Trump had been “overcharged” via the Espionage Act, referring to the counts of willful retention.
“Did he do things wrong? Yes, he may have. He will be tried about that. But Hillary Clinton wasn’t,” Graham, who has endorsed Trump for president in 2024, said of the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate.
Stephanopoulos followed up, pointing to the alleged recording of Trump discussing classified government information that prosecutors cited in his indictment.
“You said that he did not disseminate any of this information. In fact, there’s an audiotape in the indictment where he’s talking about the secret information, saying he knows it’s secret, knows it’s not declassified,” Stephanopoulos told Graham.
“I don’t know what happened; I haven’t heard the audio,” Graham said. “But look at who’s been charged under the Espionage Act: Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning — people who turned over classified information to news organizations … or provide it to a foreign power. That did not happen here.”
Graham then again brought up Clinton.
“Senator, first of all, she was fully investigated,” Stephanopoulos said, prompting a “yeah right” and “give me a break” from Graham.
“There is an audio tape of Donald Trump saying he knows this is secret information he knows he’s sharing with other people. How is that OK?” Stephanopoulos followed up.
“I’m not saying it’s OK,” Graham said before again comparing Trump’s behavior to Clinton’s.
But a review of government documents from both investigations suggests there are key differences in the cases of Trump and Clinton, who used a personal email server that was later found to have been used to send or receive classified information, a scandal that cast a shadow over her entire 2016 presidential bid — and often prompted Trump to tout how much more seriously he would treat government secrets.
Around 193 emails containing classified information were sent to or from Clinton’s personal email, authorities have said, while federal investigators have identified more than 322 individual documents containing classified information that were kept at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left the White House.
Prosecutors determined that the evidence and facts of Clinton’s case showed “a lack of intent to communicate classified information on unclassified systems,” especially since “[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 a 2018 report from the Justice Department’s inspector general.
However, the indictment against Trump underscored not only his alleged knowledge that he possessed classified information once he was no longer president but also how he is accused of working to conceal the records from federal authorities after they asked to retrieve them.
Then-FBI Director James Comey blasted Clinton as “extremely careless” in 2016 but prosecutors determined that the evidence and facts showed “a lack of intent to communicate classified information on unclassified systems,” according to a Justice Department report.
On “This Week,” Graham also sought to compare Trump keeping classified documents to what former Vice President Mike Pence and President Joe Biden did. They both kept sensitive records while out of office (in Biden’s case, in his Delaware home’s garage). But they cooperated with government authorities in returning them, in contrast to what prosecutors said was Trump’s resistance.
The Department of Justice has told Pence they won’t bring charges against him, ABC News previously reported. The investigation of Biden’s handling of classified records is ongoing.
“I don’t like what President Trump did in certain aspects. I don’t like that Joe Biden had classified information on the garage. I don’t like that Mike Pence carelessly took classified information. I don’t like any of that,” said Graham, who also pointed to former President Bill Clinton keeping “tapes in his sock drawer.” (In the latter case, Bill Clinton designated some tapes as personal, rather than presidential, allowing him to keep them after his time in office.)
“I would like to review the system. But here’s the point I’m trying to make: What’s happening in Manhattan with Donald Trump has never happened to anybody in the history of New York,” Graham said, referring to Trump’s first indictment, in New York City, related to hush money he paid to an adult film actress. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.
“I think the espionage charges are completely wrong and I think they paint an impression that doesn’t exist. This is not espionage,” Graham said. “And I do believe, George, that most people on my side of the aisle believes when it comes to Donald Trump, there are no rules. And you can do the exact same thing or something similar as a Democrat and nothing happens to you.”
Stephanopoulos interjected and said that experts believe if Trump had complied with the government efforts to retrieve the classified information he took, “There would be no case at all.”
“Well, I don’t know if that’s true. He believes he has the power to do that,” Graham responded.
He again pointed to other cases — Clinton, Biden’s son Hunter Biden — that he said showed an unequal standard of justice. (Hunter Biden is currently under federal investigation himself and has maintained he will be cleared.)
“I think Donald Trump is stronger today politically than he was before. … We’ll have an election, and we’ll have a trial, but I promise you this: Most Americans believe, most Republicans believe, that the law is used as a weapon against Donald Trump,” Graham said.
Stephanopoulos told him: “What I’ve not heard from you is the defense of Donald Trump’s behavior and why you think that’s the kind of behavior you want to see in a president of the United States.”
“I’m not justifying his behavior. If it were up to me, nobody would take classified information in their garage or Mar-a-Lago,” Graham said.
Still, he said, his view of Trump hadn’t wavered.
“I think what’s happening here is trying to delegitimize him,” Graham said.
“It’s not going to change my support for Donald Trump,” he said. “He’s innocent until proven guilty. But what I’m trying to convey to you, and I’m sorry I’m not doing a better job, that most Republicans believe that the law now is a political tool.”
(WASHINGTON) — Federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment Friday against former President Donald Trump in connection with his handling of government documents.
The 38 charges against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta include conspiracy to obstruct justice and scheme to conceal, according to the document.
Trump is slated to be arraigned on Tuesday in a Florida federal court.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and criticized the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney general’s office of conducting a political “witch hunt.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith is slated to make a statement about the indictment at 3 p.m.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against his one-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is set for trial in August 2024, according to an order Friday by a federal judge in Florida.
Trump has accused Cohen of breaching his fiduciary duty and his lawsuit seeks at least a half-billion dollars in damages.
Cohen has sought to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it vindictive, frivolous and scattershot.
“This suit combines the worst of Mr. Trump’s vindictive impulses. The Complaint, frivolous and scattershot, is an abusive act of pure retaliation and witness intimidation, albeit a ham-fisted one,” Cohen’s attorneys Benjamin Brodsky and Danya Perry said in the motion to dismiss filed in May.
The judge has yet to rule on the motion to dismiss but set a trial date of Aug. 26, 2024, about a month after the Republican National Convention.
Trump accused Cohen of “egregious breaches of fiduciary duty and contract” in connection with the publication of books and the production of a podcast that “are intended to be embarrassing or detrimental” to Trump.
“Despite Cohen’s arguments to the contrary, the Complaint alleges that Cohen was conferred substantial benefits during his representation of the Plaintiff and utilized such benefits for purposes of obtaining selfish, financial profit at the expense of Plaintiff,” Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Britto, said in a statement earlier this month.
The civil trial would require neither Trump nor Cohen to be present, but it represents yet another legal entanglement for the former president as he again seeks the White House.
Judge Darrin Gayles also ordered Trump and Cohen to try and mediate their dispute prior to trial, setting a mediation deadline of May 2024.
