Donald Trump, sued for his negligent handling of state secrets after leaving the White House, on Tuesday called his earlier formal indictment in federal court in Miami a “heinous abuse of power”.
In front of his supporters gathered at his golf club in New Jersey, he accused his Democratic successor Joe Biden of being “corrupt” and of attacking his “main political opponent”. “It’s electoral interference”, launched the Republican, presidential candidate of 2024.
A few hours earlier, in Miami, the septuagenarian former president had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him – paving the way for a historic and potentially very damaging trial for his campaign for the American presidential election of 2024.
The Republican is accused of endangering the security of the United States by keeping confidential documents, including military plans or information on nuclear weapons, in a bathroom or storage room of his luxury residence in Mar-a-Lago , in Florida.
He is also accused of having refused to return these documents despite court injunctions, which earned him the charge of “illegal retention of information relating to national security”, but also “obstructing justice” and ” false testimony”.
In Miami, a federal judge notified him of the 37 charges against him. Looking brave, Donald Trump then enjoyed a walkabout when he left the court in a Cuban restaurant, an emblematic gathering place for Republican activists in Florida.
He then flew to New Jersey, where hundreds of his supporters were waiting for him.
“They are trying to prevent him from showing up,” said Vincent Larusso, present in the crowd, to AFP.
Since his questioning, the Republican denounces “a set up” orchestrated to exclude him from the competition against Democratic President Joe Biden, also in the running for a second term.
At the same time, his campaign team multiplies emails to his supporters to encourage them to contribute financially to his defense.
It is the first time that a former US president has been indicted at the federal level, an event that has received dizzying media attention.
For 24 hours, the helicopters of the American media have recorded the slightest movement of the billionaire, from his private plane to his golf club via the court, a large building with glass windows surrounded by palm trees.
But Donald Trump has already experienced the ordeal of a court appearance: in early April, he was indicted by New York State justice for several accounting frauds in connection with a payment made before the 2016 presidential election to make silence an actress of X movies, who says she was his mistress.
In the United States, a law obliges presidents to transmit all their emails, letters and other working documents to the National Archives. Another prohibits keeping state secrets in unauthorized and unsecured places.
When he left the White House in January 2021, Donald Trump nevertheless took away dozens of boxes full of files.
In January 2022, after several reminders, the ex-president agreed to return boxes containing nearly 200 classified documents, but kept some secretly.
To recover them, FBI agents carried out a spectacular search in Mar-a-Lago on August 8 and seized about 30 other boxes, containing 11,000 documents.
What impact will this case have on his electoral ambitions? Many of his supporters continue to swear their support to him, convinced that he is the victim of a plot.
But Donald Trump is probably not done with legal problems. A Georgia prosecutor is due to announce the outcome of her investigation into his pressure to try to change the 2020 presidential election by September.
A special prosecutor is investigating his role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
As for the criminal trial of the former president in New York, it could be organized in early 2024, right during the Republican primaries, of which he is currently the big favorite.
06/14/2023 03:08:37 – Miami (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
