In a federal court in Miami, Florida, Donald Trump has entered a not guilty plea to infamous accusations of handling confidential documents improperly.
Trump is the first US president, present or ex, to be charged with a federal crime.
Later, the Republican made his way to Bedminster, New Jersey, where he spoke to his supporters.
The front-runner for the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, Trump, took a belligerent tone in front of the assembled crowd and said he had “every right” to possess the confidential information but “hadn’t had a chance to go through all the boxes.”
He claimed to have followed the law before making listing out unproven allegations and complaining about President Joe Biden and his former competitor Hillary Clinton. On his social media platform Truth Social earlier in the day, Trump thanked Miami for providing “such a warm welcome on such a sad day for our country” before departing from the city.
Just hours earlier, Mr Trump had watched as his attorney entered a not-guilty plea on 37 charges of illegally holding onto confidential files and impeding the government’s efforts to recover them in a courtroom on the 13th floor of a federal building in downtown Miami.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche in the courtroom said, “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty.”
The former president, who had his 77th birthday on Wednesday, was given permission to leave court and travel anywhere in the country or throughout the world. Judge Jonathan Goodman, a magistrate, was informed by the prosecution that the defendant was not a flight risk.
But Walt Nauta, Trump’s co-defendant and a close aide charged with six criminal charges in the case, will not be allowed to hear about the case from Trump.
As she spoke to the media outside of court, Alina Habba, a counsel for the former president, reiterated his accusations that the charges were politically motivated.
She said, “We are at a turning point in our nation’s history, the targeting prosecution of a leading political opponent is the type of thing you see in dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela. What is being done to the President Trump should terrify all citizens of this country.”
Before the hearing, court representatives stated that Trump would not have his photograph taken but rather would be digitally fingerprinted and told him to provide a DNA sample via swab.
The lawsuit is still assigned to Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal district judge in South Florida; although a trial date has not yet been set.
The accusations were made public on Friday after FBI officials discovered more than 100 documents that had secret markings at Trump’s exclusive Florida home Mar-a-Lago in August. They supposedly included details on the military and weaponry prowess of the US and other nations, as well as strategies for potential reprisal in the event of a foreign assault.
