Former President Donald Trump plans to plead not guilty to the criminal charges he’s facing.
“I’ll just say not guilty,” Trump said while speaking with radio host Howie Carr on June 12.
Trump also said he doubted he would say anything else in court.
Walt Nauta, an aide to the former president, has also been charged.
Nauta’s lawyer has declined to comment.
Both men are slated to appear in federal court in Miami, Florida to enter pleas on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Trump violated the law by holding national security materials at his properties in Palm Beach, Florida, and Bedminster, New Jersey; showing the documents to people who did not hold security clearance; obstructing investigations by directing Nauta to move boxes to conceal them from the FBI; and falsely stating he was cooperating with the FBI investigation while not providing all the materials called for in a subpoena.
Trump told Carr that he is innocent.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I did nothing wrong,“ Trump said. He said authorities have ”no case whatsoever,” noting that similar cases, such as one involving the 2016 Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, did not lead to charges.
The 2024 candidate said President Joe Biden’s administration is interfering in the election through the charges.
Biden has said he did not direct the Department of Justice to charge Trump.
Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland—who was himself appointed by Biden—said that Trump was charged because evidence shows he violated the law.
“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk,” Smith said in a prepared statement from Washington on June 9.
“Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice. And our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” he added later.
Leaves for Florida
Trump was in New Jersey at his golf club there on Monday. He departed for Miami to prepare for the arraignment.Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told a briefing that the city is preparing for up to 50,000 people to arrive, while encouraging protesters to remain peaceful.
“Make no mistake about it, we’re taking this event extremely seriously,” Morales said at the press conference. “We know that there is a potential for things taking a turn for the worst, but that’s not the Miami way.”
Police have so far chosen not to place barricades around the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse, where the arraignment is set to take place, instead opting for the yellow tape often seen around crime scenes.
Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez said on CNN Tuesday that the crowds have been calm.
No Press Coverage
People entering federal courthouses are normally required to leave behind their phones and other electronics.A coalition of news organizations asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, who is handling the arraignment, to allow exceptions to the rules due to the “unprecedented nature” of the case.
“This is the first federal indictment ever brought against a former President of the United States. The American public’s interest in this case is beyond exaggeration,” lawyers for the coalition said in a filing.
One part of judicial rules enables judges to permit limited photography of special proceedings.
The group also requested the court release an audio recording of the proceedings immediately after the arraignment, and after all future proceedings in the case.
Torres, appointed by other judges, declined the request. He said he was “not convinced” that the arraignment meets the definition of a special proceeding as outlined in the rule.
“The ’special proceedings’ term referenced in the Local Rule is analogized to a proceeding akin to a naturalization proceeding. Tomorrow’s proceedings are undoubtedly ’special‘ in that they are genuinely historic and of huge importance, but they are not in any way similar to a naturalization proceeding,” Torres said. “The motion does not cite any case or legal authority which would support the view that photographs are permitted tomorrow because the first appearance and arraignment are ’special proceedings,’ as that term is used in the rule.”
Torres also rejected making audio available, but said an expedited transcript would be available for interested parties. Transcripts cost money to purchase.
Torres expects his involvement in the case to end after the arraignment.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has been assigned to the case. She will oversee the case after Torres conducts the first hearing. The press coalition can ask Cannon to allow photography in future hearings, Torres said.
