Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Miami International Airport, Miami, June 12, 2023.
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WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump landed in Miami on Monday afternoon, a day before he is expected to appear in court for the first time to face federal fees that he knowingly withheld documents containing some of the nation’s most sensitive military secrets.
But without a local attorney representing him in court, Tuesday’s trial could be cut short, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. In that case, Trump would go to court to turn himself in, but his impeachment and confession could be delayed, according to NBC.
As of 5 p.m. EST Monday, Trump and his co-defendant and personal servant, Walt Nauta, have yet to appoint attorneys authorized to appear before judges in the Southern District of Florida, according to court filings. for his case.
The two main lawyers who represented Trump in the lawsuit resignation Friday, just a day after Trump announced he had been indicted.
“For the purpose of opposing the Greatest Witch Hunt of All Time, currently moving to the Florida Courts, I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a company to be named later,” Trump said. said on social media on Friday.
Blanche, based in New York, is not a member of the Bar of the Southern District of Florida. A source with direct knowledge later told NBC that Blanche traveled with Trump to Florida. While it’s unclear if another attorney will join the former president on Tuesday, judges have sometimes allowed unadmitted attorneys in their district to represent defendants at trial. .
The GOP’s 2024 presidential candidate is facing a 37-count federal indictment, filed last week by special counsel Jack Smith. The charges mark the first time a former US president has been charged with federal charges.
Trump traveled to Florida from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. It is unclear whether his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, will join him in court on Tuesday.
Trump did not speak to reporters or cameras placed along his travel route on Monday, but he has posted several times on his social media platform, Truth Social.
There, he pledged that if elected to a second term in 2024, he would appoint a real “special prosecutor” to investigate “his successor, President Joe Biden, and “all others are involved” in what Trump called “the destruction of our elections, our borders, and our own country.”
Trump’s call for revenge came amid several other posts in which he criticized what he called the “weaponization” of the justice system.
Trump also publicly criticized Republicans who disapprove of him, particularly Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who endorsed GOP 2024 hopeful Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the weekend.
In Miami, preparations were underway on Monday for any demonstrations or protests outside the courthouse on Tuesday.
There have been scattered calls from several Republican lawmakers urging people to gather in Miami. But on Monday night, the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not issue a bulletin specifically threatening the event or identifying a possible danger to the public.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city and state are taking a unified command approach to this day, pooling resources and information with federal agents and the Secret Service. United States, the agency responsible for the safety of current and former presidents.
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told reporters his officers are bringing in enough resources to “handle crowds of anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000.” He said he did not expect any problems.
Trump is expected to return to New Jersey Tuesday afternoon, after appearing in court. ONE birthday fundraising campaign is scheduled for Tuesday night, where Trump is expected to make remarks.
Trump insists he has not committed a crime. The most serious charge is 31 counts of knowingly withholding national defense information, violating the law Espionage Act. The other six charges relate to allegations that Trump made false statements, attempted to conceal or withhold material from investigators or conspired to obstruct justice.
The 49-page federal indictment is meticulously detailed, with photos showing dozens of boxes of presidential documents that Trump carried when he left the White House in 2021.
The National Archives and Records Administration then spent more than a year trying to get Trump and his attorneys to return records, including combat plans, nuclear capabilities, and intelligence information. Another very sensitive military newspaper.
But as the indictment alleges, Trump repeatedly refused to turn over the archives and he instructed Nauta to hide them from investigators, who brought in subpoenas.
The boxes were later said to contain hundreds of classified documents, some of which were only seized after the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022.
According to the indictment, “The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents may pose risks to the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, human resources, and capabilities. viability of sensitive intelligence-gathering methods.”
