Miami: In his historic first court appearance on Tuesday, Donald Trump refuted numerous criminal charges of willfully mishandling US government secrets and planning to prevent their return.

The former president was charged with a string of felonies in Manhattan over hush money payments to a porn star, and this was his second arraignment as he fights a barrage of legal threats.

A Miami judge officially presented Trump with 37 charges from the government after a special counsel investigation was launched following an FBI raid on his Florida mansion in August of last year. Trump then made an appearance before the judge.

Also Read: Henadi Al-Saleh: Saudi Arabia's rapidly expanding logistics sector is driving regional change

The hearing was informed by Todd Blanche, his attorney, that "we are definitely entering a plea of not guilty."

Trump, who is running for president again next year, is charged by the US government with breaking the Espionage Act and other laws when he took secret documents with him when he left office and failed to turn them over to the National Archives.

Authorities claim he planned to obstruct investigators and intentionally disclosed sensitive information to individuals without the proper clearance.

Trump, who travelled to Miami on his private jet on Monday, is anticipated to return to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will make a speech announcing his innocence.

"One of the most depressing days in our nation's history. As he was being driven to court, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, "We are a nation in decline.

The police increased security well in advance of what turned out to be a small group of Trump supporters congregating close to the courthouse because Miami officials were preparing for significant protests.

One person had a sign that read, "Indict Jack Smith"—the special prosecutor who brought the charges—and some were sporting "Make America Great Again" baseball caps.

A local radio station was playing Cuban salsa music, and police, some of whom were on horses and bicycles, were out in force, prepared for protests and possible unrest. Despite this, the atmosphere was festive.

Also Read: NATO launches a historic air exercise as a "show of strength"

Trump earlier attacked Smith on Truth Social, calling the prosecutor a "thug" and a "lunatic." Trump then made the 25-minute drive from his Doral golf course to the courthouse in a motorcade of at least six black SUVs.

No matter how the case involving the documents turns out, the undisputed front-runner in the Republican primary for 2024 has vowed to continue running.
The 49-page indictment, which Trump called "ridiculous," contains images of boxes of papers stacked in a ballroom, a bathroom and a shower at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach home.

Trump was recently found guilty of sexual abuse after being impeached twice over allegations of misconduct in office. Trump currently has a more than 30-point lead in the Republican presidential primary.

As he runs for re-election, he is under investigation or under indictment in four criminal cases, one each in Washington, Florida, Georgia, and New York. He may also go to trial in a number of these cases.

The brazen billionaire, who will turn 77 on Wednesday, has promised to pardon many of the rioters if he is reelected and continues to support and even praise the mob that ransacked the Capitol to prevent the certification of the 2020 election.

Trump promised Monday to appoint a special prosecutor to look into President Joe Biden and his family upon his return to office. Trump has frequently claimed that the investigations into him are nothing more than a pointless "witch hunt."

According to a recent Ipsos poll, 81 percent of Republican voters believe the charges against the former president are politically motivated, so they strongly supported him when he testified in court.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, told CNN that "in recent years we have seen the rise of politically-motivated prosecutors who don't care for impartiality, who don't care for due process or equal protection of laws."

They have been actively but covertly promoting a two-tiered justice system where discrimination is the norm.

The seriousness of the allegations has largely been downplayed by Republican leaders in Congress and Trump's opponents for the party's presidential nomination, who have instead attacked the Justice Department.

The pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. released an advertisement on Monday pointing out that there has been no indictment in the ongoing investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.

Also Read: 'High spirits' after being rescued Colombian children draw a missing search dog

Since Biden is not accused of withholding or obstructing government efforts to recover classified documents, there are few similarities between the two cases.