MIAMI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2023) The United States is bracing for the first court hearing in the criminal probe involving alleged mishandling of classified documents by former US President Donald Trump, whom a grand jury chose to indict on 37 charges announced last week.
On Friday, the indictment against Trump was released to the public, which outlined a total of 38 charges against Trump and a personal aide, including willful retention of national defense information and making false statements.
The indictment comes following an investigation into Trump's storage of sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House, which culminated in a raid on the property in August.
The probe and related indictment have been met with criticism by Trump, who denies the allegations, as well as Republican lawmakers and fellow 2024 Republican presidential candidates.
According to the indictment released Friday, following Trump's departure from the White House in January 2021, the former president took "scores of boxes" containing classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The indictment alleges that Trump was not authorized to possess or retain the sensitive materials.
In March 2022, the FBI launched a criminal investigation into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents, which resulted in a grand jury issuing a subpoena for Trump to turn over sensitive materials. The indictment alleges that Trump attempted to obstruct the FBI and grand jury probes and conceal his retention of classified documents.
The US government ultimately recovered hundreds of classified documents throughout 2022, including in materials provided to the National Archives and Records Administration in January, materials provided to the grand jury in June, and in an August FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
The August 2022 search warrant authorized investigators to seize classified documents, presidential records and any evidence of concealment or destruction of such materials.
In the indictment released Friday, prosecutors charged Trump with 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, scheming to conceal, and making false statements and representations.
The indictment also co-charges Trump's personal aide, Waltine Nauta, with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation and scheming to conceal. In addition, the indictment charges Nauta with a separate count of making false statements and representations.
The Justice Department also alleged that the materials involved information on matters including the nuclear capabilities of a foreign country, military attacks by a foreign country and US military contingency planning.
Several of the charges carry maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
The indictment was approved by a grand jury and signed by US Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Trump claims that he is authorized to handle sensitive materials as he did under the Presidential Records Act. Trump has also criticized the Justice Department for not pursuing an investigation into alleged mishandling of classified materials by US President Joe Biden with the same rigor.
Republicans have characterized the probe as a "weaponization" of the federal government and its justice system. US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that indicting the leading opposition candidate is "unconscionable" and vowed accountability.
Fellow Republican presidential candidates for the 2024 election, the pack of whom Trump currently leads, have also come out against the indictment. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the United States is witnessing an "uneven application of the law" based on political affiliation and promised to excise "political bias" if elected president.
Trump is set to appear at a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday for his first hearing in the case. During an initial appearance, authorities typically take fingerprints and a mugshot of defendants while they are handcuffed, however, during a similar court appearance in New York in April, only Trump's fingerprints were taken and he was not placed in handcuffs.
It is unclear at this time what court proceedings will take place during the hearing, although it is possible Trump could enter a plea instead of waiting for a separate arraignment hearing.
The White House in a statement on Friday said the Biden administration is "always prepared" in the event of possible protests stemming from the court appearance.
Former US Assistant State Attorney in Florida David Cannady told Sputnik that, if convicted, Trump would likely be given a minimal sentence, or even pardoned by the sitting president. Trump, he added, could negotiate not to run for president again as part of a plea deal.
Moreover, a CBS New-YouGov poll published Sunday found that four in five likely Republican voters do not believe that a conviction in the case should impact his ability to serve again as president. More than three-quarters of respondents expressed concerns about the case being politically motivated, the poll found.
Trump is expected to deliver remarks on Tuesday evening after the hearing from the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey.
