MIAMI — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 37 felony counts related to mishandling classified documents, obstructing justice and making false statements.
Mr. Trump is the first ex-president to be charged with federal crimes, adding to a list of legal entanglements that threaten to distract him from his 2024 presidential campaign, and, if convicted, stain his political legacy and put him in prison for the rest of his life.
Todd Blanche, Mr. Trump’s new attorney, entered the plea on behalf of the former president.
The historic arraignment at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami will test the justice system amid intense polarization that has become a defining feature of American politics, turned friends into foes, and put the nation on edge.
Mr. Trump and his allies say the indictment over classified materials is more evidence of the weaponization of the Department of Justice and a two-tiered justice system that is unfair to Republicans.
“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,” Trump spokesperson Alina Habba said outside the courthouse. “They have been quietly, but aggressively cultivating a two-tiered system of justice where selective treatment is the norm.”
“From the Russian hoax to the attorney generals to the corrupt DAs in Georgia and New York, and now this, the people in charge of this country do not love America,” she said. “They hate Donald Trump.”
The indictment says the classified documents Mr. Trump took with him to his Mar-a-Lago resort after he lost the 2020 election to President Biden included “information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for a possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign states, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods,” the indictment said.
The indictment said Mr. Trump suggested his attorney “falsely represent to the FBI and grand jury” that he did not have the documents and had “his attorney hide or destroy documents.”
It marks the second time in as many months that Mr. Trump had to appear before a judge to face criminal charges. In April, he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts under New York law related to falsifying business records to cover up payments he made to a porn actress and a Playboy model during the 2016 presidential campaign.
A jury, meanwhile, found Mr. Trump liable in May for sexually abusing and defaming author and magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. Mr. Trump also faces separate federal probes into the role he played in the Jan.6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and interfering in the 2020 election in Georgia.
Mr. Trump has vowed to stay in the race if he is convicted of crimes, setting up a situation where he would be positioned to grant himself a pardon for federal crimes if he is elected.
Before the court hearing Tuesday, Mr. Trump took aim at special counsel Jack Smith, who Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed to lead the investigation.
Mr. Trump called Mr. Smith a “Thug” that “Biden and his CORRUPT Injustice Department stuck on me.”
“He’s a Radical Right Lunatic and Trump Hater, as are all his friends and family, who probably ‘planted’ information in the ‘boxes’ given to them,” Mr. Trump said. “They taint everything that they touch, including our Country, which is rapidly going to HELL!”
Mr. Trump has made a habit of smashing political norms. He was impeached twice as president. He claims the 2020 election was stolen, and called for Mr. Biden’s win to be overturned and for him to be reinstated — even claiming the Constitution should get tossed aside if need be.
Looking to tap into the pro-Trump sentiment among primary voters, longshot GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy vowed if elected to pardon Mr. Trump. He also called on his rivals for the nomination to make the same commitment.
Others, though, said the indictment shows that no one is above the law and that Mr. Trump brought the problems on himself by refusing to cooperate with law enforcement officials.
“The disregard and the complete disrespect for classified information and rule of law that is set forth in this indictment is astonishing,” Marco Jimenez, former US attorney for the South District of Florida, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, said on CNN.
The high-stakes legal battle is playing out against a political backdrop. Polls show Mr. Trump is the clearcut favorite to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and faceoff in the general election for a second time against Mr. Biden.
Mr. Trump’s supporters are once again rallying behind him. According to a Morning Consult tracking poll, Mr. Trump holds a 59% to 19% lead over his closest rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, marking a slight uptick in support since the indictment.
Former Vice President Mike Pence registers at 8% and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is at 4%.
The survey of more than 3,000 potential GOP primary voters was conducted June 9-11 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
• Seth McLaughlin reported from Washington.
