Associated Press
Donald Trump and his allies are escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests as the former President braces for a history-making federal court appearance this week on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified information.
Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time in as many months facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former President concerns conduct prosecutors say jeopardized national security and that involves Espionage Act charges carrying the threat of a significant prison sentence in the event of conviction.
Ahead of his arraignment, Trump ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, calling Jack Smith “deranged” and his team of prosecutors “thugs” as he repeated without any evidence his claims that he was the target of a political persecution.
He called on his supporters to join a planned protest at the Miami courthouse Tuesday, where he will be arraigned on the charges.
“We need strength in our country now,” Trump said, speaking to his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone in an interview on WABC Radio. “And they have to go out and they have to protest peacefully. They have to go out.”
“Look, our country has to protest. We have plenty of protest to protest. We’ve lost everything,” he went on.
He also said there were no circumstances “whatsoever” under which he would leave the 2024 race, where he’s so far been dominating the Republican Primary.
Other Trump supporters have rallied to his defense with similar language, including Kari Lake, the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona who pointedly said over the weekend that if prosecutors “want to get to President Trump,” they’re ”going to have to go through me, and 75 million Americans just like me. And most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.”
Trump’s calls for protest echoed exhortations he made ahead of a New York court appearance last April, where he faces charges arising from hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign, though he complained that those who showed up to protest then were “so far away that nobody knew about ’em,” And just like in that case, he plans to address supporters in a Tuesday evening speech hours after his court date.
Trump is expected to depart for Miami on Monday and will spend the rest of the day in Florida, huddled with advisers. After his court appearance, he will return to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.
Trump supporters were also planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for the potential of unrest around the courthouse. Mayor Francis Suarez was expected to announce additional details Monday about the preparations though there was little police presence near the courthouse as late as Sunday afternoon and barricades hadn’t yet been erected nearby, a stark contrast to New York City where police planned for protests for weeks even though no violence ultimately happened.
The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.
The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” the indictment says. The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.
Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.
Some fellow Republicans have sought to press the case that Trump is being treated unfairly, citing the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 to not charge Democrat Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information through a private email server she relied on as secretary of state. But those arguments overlook that FBI investigators did not find any evidence that Clinton or her aides had willfully broken laws regarding classified information or had obstructed the investigation.
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, speaking Sunday on CBS News, said there was a “huge difference” between the two investigations but that it “has to be explained to the American people.”
The Justice Department earlier this month informed former Vice President Mike Pence that it would not bring charges over the presence of classified documents in his Indiana home. A separate Justice Department special counsel investigation into the discovery of classified records at a home and office of President Joe Biden continues, though as in the Clinton case, no evidence of obstruction or intentional law-breaking has surfaced.
Trump’s own former attorney general, William Barr, offered a grim prediction of Trump’s fate, saying on Fox News that Trump had no right to hold onto such sensitive records.
“If even half of it is true,” Barr said of the allegations in the indictment, “then he’s toast. I mean, it’s a pretty — it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning. And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here — a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous.”
___
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
14 comments
Vin Decatur
June 12, 2023 at 7:13 am
I feel vindicated. I was telling people more than a year ago that Biden eventually would have to indict Trump to keep him off the ballot, and I was right.
Ed Slaveen Worldwide 👍
June 12, 2023 at 7:25 am
Biden doesn’t have a hand in this. You’re just a pro crime sociopath and far right troll. Orange Hitler comitted election interference in broad daylight… said, “I just need you to find more votes than we have.” Also, Ashli Babbitt would still be alive if it weren’t for his lies. He got 1,000 arrested and got a girl killed.
SteveHC
June 12, 2023 at 9:43 am
– Correct.
KD
June 12, 2023 at 7:58 pm
Trump is a narcissistic crooked politician out for his own ego and agenda! He did nothing for this country so when are all of you crazy GOP right wingers going to stop defending him including the current candidates running. DeSantis is a ego maniac and has ruined the state with his dictator leadership. All of tge candidates still defend him because they dint want themselves hurt by all the MAGA crazies. And by the way Biden didn’t cause any of the countries current problems … they resulted from the crazy lying about COVID and what the disease did to the country. If you haven’t learned how all the GOP politicians have made government bigger, more controlling, and more suppressive then you never will.
Ashlii Babbit Can’t Hear You
June 12, 2023 at 7:26 am
You are following in Ashlii Babbit’s footsteps, Vin, sweetie.
Dont Say FLA
June 12, 2023 at 12:23 pm
Vin is only following in Ashey Blabbit’s footsteps if Vin is a chick. It’s always “ladies first” at MAGA land. The tough guys walk through the door after the woman, betting her life the cops won’t shoot a woman. Such tough guys, these MAGAs.
Dont Say FLA
June 12, 2023 at 7:48 am
Interesting, but you lost me when you didn’t say why Trump participated in Biden’s scheming.
Alternatively, if you feel like Trump did not volunteer for this and did not participate willingly in committing 37 felonies for which he could be indicted, you didn’t say how senile, incompetent Biden outplayed Trump so damn hard.
Please explain your knowledge, Vin Decatur. Us enquiring minds, we need to know.
One last request – How would these 37 indictments, even at a 100% conviction rate, keep Trump off the ballot? While Trump wouldn’t be allowed to own a gun, he would still be allowed to run for President, his voters will still vote for him no matter what, and nobody else would vote for him already after his first Presidency, as demonstrated, and then after he pulled the J6 nonsense. So how would this make any difference at all to Trumps eligibility for the ballot? He’s already a candidate. There’s no going back unless the GOP somehow manages to shed him.
SteveHC
June 12, 2023 at 9:44 am
– 100% correct (for better or worse 😉
Mr. Haney
June 12, 2023 at 8:14 am
The President doesn’t indict anyone. Grand Juries do.
Vin DeLandlord
June 12, 2023 at 7:41 pm
Vin got the feels and that’s good.
You are a terrific landlord for our President Joe Biden, who lives in your head, rent-free.
Dont Say FLA
June 12, 2023 at 7:37 am
Rather than undermine the case, why didn’t Trump prevent it like Pence and Biden did, just giving the documents back for the National Archives?
What did Trump fear from giving up those documents that would have been worse than dying of old age in prison?
Trump evidently had some plan for those documents, and the outcome of failure for him must have been worse than dying of old age in prison.
There’s no other explanation for not just returning the documents like Pence and Biden did. The judicial outcome is less bad that whatever other outcome would have come for him had he just returned the documents.
What did Trump gain recently that makes little to no sense, if anything?
Saudi Arabia’s LIV golf just “merged” with PGA which means PGA tournaments will be restored to Trump golf courses. Did that merger have something to do with the documents? Is Box Gate also Golf Gate?
Did MBS really spend billions on golf just for “sports washing,” as the (fake) media claims, as if he can sports wash away 9/11 Never Forget, but the PGA forgot? LOL.
Prison will be a cake walk compared to beheading Trump might have coming for him from MBS.
Caesar Smith
June 12, 2023 at 8:26 am
The orange-haired bandit got caught with his pants down…pure and simple. He’s lied about 38,000 times so why in the world should anyone believe him now? Time to lock him up and feed the key to a not-so-friendly alligator.
SteveHC
June 12, 2023 at 9:49 am
ANY and all protestors and counter-protestors should be kept away from each other and as far away from the Miami courthouse as possible. And OBVIOUSLY guns should be prohibited from the area. But let’s face it, it’s FloriDUH we’re talking about here…
Dont Say FLA
June 12, 2023 at 10:33 am
Agree. Too bad Rhonda sent the Florida National Guard to Texas on his campaign tour when they’re desperately needed in Miami.
Reckon Rhonda wants to make GOP Presidential competitor and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez look bad by letting Miami burn, but we all see that coming tomorrow.
We all already know Miami will be left to burn because Rhonda sent the Florida National Guard on his campaign tour.
Comments are closed.