Trump facing 37 criminal charges in Miami court
EFE News Agency – Former US president Donald Trump will have to answer in federal court for 37 criminal charges related to the classified documents found in his Florida home in 2022, in the midst of the campaign for the Republican primaries with a view to returning to the White House.
He is charged with illegal withholding of government secrets, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy, among other crimes, according to court documents officially released this Friday, a day after Trump reported that “the largest witch hunt in history” had moved to Florida.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith, in charge of the investigation, said Friday that the law applies to everyone and that he will seek a speedy trial “in accordance with the public interest and the rights of the accused.”
He also asked the public to read the charging document to understand “the scope and seriousness of the crimes charged.”
The Prosecutor’s Office alleges that Trump’s “efforts to obstruct FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal the withholding of classified documents.”
Most serious crimes
According to the 49-page document, the most serious crimes charged against him, such as obstruction of justice and conspiracy, are punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000, and the less serious, such as conspiracy to hide, with 5 years in prison and the same financial penalty.
In addition to Trump, Waltine Nauta, a military assistant who worked for him during his term as president) was seen moving boxes with official documents at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s residence in Palm Beach.
For the investigation, two grand juries were formed, one in Washington, and another in Miami, which from May 19 to Wednesday has heard testimonies from people related to the handling of official documents that Trump had at his home without authorization, something which is illegal in the United States.
Next Tuesday, June 13, Trump must appear in the federal courts of Miami for the reading of the charges.
According to various media outlets, the federal judge who will oversee the case, at least initially, is Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump.
Cannon was the one who, early in the case, accepted a request from Trump’s lawyers for a special expert to review the material seized at Mar-a-Lago, which included a hundred classified documents and appointed the veteran judge of New York Raymond Dearie to handle the task.
But in December 2022, she had to reverse course and annul the decision due to a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals that sided with the Department of Justice.
LEGAL TEAM CHANGES
Two of Trump’s lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned on Friday and he will now be represented by Todd Blanche, who was already part of his legal team, and other lawyers who will join “in the coming days,”
Trump, who is campaigning with the goal of returning to the White House, claims to be “innocent” and says that the objective of the accusation is to “damage his reputation” to prevent him from winning the elections. of 2024.
This new prosecution, the first for federal crimes against a former president in the US, follows Trump’s indictment in a non-federal court in Manhattan (New York) last March for irregular payments to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Several of his rivals in the primaries, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the rest of the main figures of the Republican Party have closed ranks in defense of Trump after learning of the new court case against him.
