Trump says he’ll plead not guilty at arraignment, won’t make statement

Former President Trump said he plans to plead not guilty but will not make any statement at his arraignment in Miami on Tuesday.

“I’ll just say not guilty,” Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Howie Carr on Monday. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I did nothing wrong. Presidential Records Act, it’s not even a criminal event. There is no criminality here. It’s ridiculous.”

The former president has been charged with 37 counts over his alleged mishandling of classified materials and efforts to block the federal government from retrieving them, according to an indictment unsealed Friday, the first federal charges against a U.S. president.

The indictment accuses Trump of retaining high-level defense information after leaving office, sharing it with individuals who did not have proper security clearances, directing an aide to move boxes of documents to conceal them and suggesting his attorney hide or destroy documents or falsely claim that had turned over all remaining documents in his possession.

Trump left his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey on Monday to head to his arraignment in Miami, where city officials are bracing for protests. Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said the city is prepared to handle crowd sizes “anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000.”  

The charges came from the investigation of special counsel Jack Smith, who is also investigating the former president over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.