Donald Trump Pleads "Not Guilty"
In Secret Documents Case, Faces 37
Charges
It was Donald Trump's second arraignment as he battles a deluge of legal threats, coming just 10 weeks after he was charged with a string of felonies in Manhattan over hush money payments to a porn star.
Police, including some on horseback and bicycles, were out in force braced for protests and the possibility of unrest, but the atmosphere was festive with a local radio station blasting Cuban salsa music.
Trump, who made the 25-minute trip from his Doral golf course to the courthouse in a motorcade of at least six black SUVs, earlier lashed out at Smith on Truth Social, calling the prosecutor a "thug" and a "lunatic."
'Ridiculous'
The runaway front-runner in the 2024 Republican primary has vowed to stay in the race regardless of the outcome of the documentary case. The 49-page indictment, which Trump called "ridiculous," includes photos showing boxes of documents stacked in Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach residence, a ballroom and a bathroom and shower. Trump, who leads the Republican presidential race by more than 30 points, has been indicted twice and was recently convicted of sexual assault. He faces indictment or continued scrutiny in four criminal investigations -- in Washington, Florida, Georgia and New York -- and could be charged in several cases during his campaign to return to the White House. The angry billionaire, who turns 77 on Wednesday, defends and even praises the rioters who ransacked the Capitol to block the 2020 election and has promised to pardon many if he is re-elected.
Trump, who has repeatedly complained that the investigation against him is a baseless "witch hunt," promised on Monday to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden and his family when he returns to office. He arrived in court with strong support from Republican voters, 81 percent of whom believe the charges against the former president are political, according to a new Ipsos poll. "In recent years, we've seen the emergence of politically motivated prosecutors who don't care about impartiality, who don't care about due process or equal protection of the law," Trump lawyer Alina Habba told CNN. "They have quietly but aggressively developed a two-tier judicial system where selective treatment is the norm." Republican leaders in Congress and Trump's rivals for the party's presidential nomination have largely downplayed the seriousness of the allegations, attacking the Justice Department instead. MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, released an announcement Monday saying the ongoing investigation into Biden's own handling of classified documents has not resulted in an indictment. Listen to latest songs only on JioSaavn.com
The two cases share few similarities, as Biden was not accused of refusing to return classified documents or suspected of obstructing the government's efforts to return them.
