Trump delivers post-arraignment speech at Bedminster rally

Trump concluded his remarks around 9:15 p.m. to applause from supporters.

His speech was laced with misleading or inaccurate claims about his case, arguing that the Presidential Records Act gives him total authority to posses government materials after leaving office.

The act states that all official records belong to the Archives once a president leaves office.

Trump also attacked President Biden at length, accusing Biden of sticking the Justice Department on him. The White House has repeatedly said that it is remaining independent of the Justice Department.

“This is called election interference in yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election,” Trump said.

—Brett Samuels

Trump again attacked special counsel Jack Smith during his remarks to supporters, calling him a “deranged lunatic.”

“The prosecutor in the case, I will call our case, is a thug. I have named him ‘deranged Jack Smith.’ I wonder what his name used to be,” Trump said, baselessly suggesting Smith has changed his name.

Trump has a history of relentlessly attacking judges and prosecutors handling his cases, and his comments could eventually lead to a judge restricting his ability to comment on the case.

—Brett Samuels

Trump emerged from his Bedminster club at 8:45 p.m. to chants of his name from supporters gathered outside.

Trump’s remarks are now likely to begin closer to 8:45 p.m., according to an aide to the former president.

The former president is expected to deliver remarks to the crowd of supporters before hosting them inside his club for a fundraiser and reception.

—Brett Samuels

A variety of notable Trump allies are arriving at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., for the former president’s speech following his arraignment earlier Tuesday.

The guests reportedly include MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has also gained attention for spreading Trump’s false claims of the 2020 presidential election being stolen; Andrew Giuliani, the son of his former attorney Rudy Giuliani; and Kash Patel, who served as the chief of staff to the acting Defense secretary during the Trump administration.

Other guests are former Trump 2020 campaign Chief Operating Officer Michael Glassner and Robert Jeffress, a pastor and close Trump ally.

—Jared Gans

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) emphasized the importance of peaceful protests outside former President Trump’s arraignment Tuesday as he appears poised to potentially join the 2024 race for president.

Suarez posted a video on his Twitter account showing him meeting with those protesting Trump’s indictment and assuring them that “everything is safe.”

“My role here today is to just maintain the peace and be the mayor of the city, and that’s what I’m focusing on,” he said in the video.

“Today was about keeping people safe. We achieved it,” he wrote along with the video.

Suarez is expected to decide soon on possibly mounting a bid for the GOP nomination for president in 2024.

—Jared Gans

Former President Donald Trump boards his personal plane at Miami International Airport, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Miami. Trump appeared in federal court Tuesday on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get the records back. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there are “lots of indications” that the allegations against Trump are true.

“First, if the allegations are true, and there’s lots of indications that they are, President Trump had classified documents where he shouldn’t have had them, and then, when given the opportunity to return them, he chose not to do that for whatever reason,” Pompeo said in an interview on Fox News.

He said everyone can make mistakes, but they need to turn the documents in when someone points that out.

“So that’s just inconsistent with protecting America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines and if the allegations are true, some of these were pretty serious, important documents. So that’s wrong,” Pompeo said.

—Jared Gans

Trump rode to court with his son Eric, who accompanied the motorcade from the former president’s Doral resort to the federal courthouse in Miami.

CNN aired footage of Trump walking to a line of SUVs with his son by his side while someone yelled, “Let’s go Trump!”

The former president could be seen stopping and waving at supporters, as well as chatting with staff members. Eric Trump appeared to clap his father on the back just before he climbed in a vehicle.

—The Associated Press

Trump is set to address his supporters hours after his court hearing on Tuesday from a location that plays a central role in the federal indictment against him: his Bedminster, N.J., club. 

The former president is flying back from Miami to New Jersey late Tuesday afternoon, and he is scheduled to give remarks at 8:15 p.m. Reporters on site posted photos of dozens of folding chairs set up on the patio of the Bedminster club, many of them assigned to prominent Trump allies like Mike Lindell, Kash Patel and Sebastian Gorka. 

Trump is likely to blast special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation and resulting indictment as politically motivated and an effort to thwart his bid for another White House term. 

Bedminster is prominently featured in two key incidents mentioned in Smith’s indictment. 

Read more here.

—Brett Samuels

Trump, in his first Truth Social post since leaving court, thanked Miami for a “warm welcome” during his brief trip into the city for his arraignment.

“Thank you Miami. Such a warm welcome on such a SAD DAY for our Country!” Trump wrote.

The former president is headed back to New Jersey on Tuesday evening.

— Brett Samuels

Donald Trump gathered with supporters at Versailles, a popular Cuban restaurant located in the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami following the arraignment.

Trump promised “food for everyone” and was met with chants of “USA!” by supporters. Co-defendant Walt Nauta, his aide, was also present at the restaurant.

— Rebecca Beitsch

Donald Trump’s attorneys and the Justice Department have clashed over Trump’s contact with witnesses in the case, including many who still work for him at Mar-a-Lago, a group that includes Trump aide Walt Nauta, who faces his own charges in the case.

Prosecutors spoke with a number of Mar-a-Lago employees while crafting the case.

Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman determined that Trump and Nauta could only communicate about the case through their attorneys, while the Justice Department is tasked with crafting a list of witnesses it wishes to block Trump from communicating with.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper offered a blistering criticism of a statement given by former president Trump’s spokesperson following his arraignment on federal charges, calling it “crazy.”

“In recent years, we have seen the rise of politically motivated prosecutors,” Alina Habba, the Trump spokesperson, told reporters gathered outside the Miami courthouse. “The people in charge of this country do not love America. They hate Donald Trump.”

“Okay well, that’s a lot of crazy,” Tapper responded before turning back to the CNN panel for discussion on the charges against Trump and the political implications of his indictment.

— Dominick Mastrangelo

Trump’s motorcade departed the courthouse just before 4 p.m., driving by onlookers and supporters of the former president following Trump’s court hearing.

The former president is set to return to his Bedminster, N.J., club on Tuesday evening, where he is scheduled to deliver remarks at 8:15.

— Brett Samuels

Former President Trump on Tuesday continued his effort to fundraise off the second indictment, vowing to “never drop out” of the 2024 race.

“They can indict me, they can arrest me, but I know – and the American people know – that I am an innocent man,” Trump wrote in a fundraising email. “My only offense is challenging the corrupt ruling class and fighting for the forgotten men and women of our country.”

“If I were to drop out, what precent would that set going forward?” he asked, adding “Presidents would be decided by extortion, not by elections.”

The email went on to ask supporters to make a donation “to peacefully show that YOU will also NEVER SURRENDER our mission to win back the White House.”

— Steff Thomas

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), a close Trump ally, said Tuesday was “a dark day for our country” following Trump’s arraignment, before alleging a double standard.

“Today is a dark day for our country as Joe Biden continues to fully weaponize the federal government against President Trump, his leading opponent for the White House in 2024,” Stefanik said in a statement.

“America was founded on the principle of equal justice under law. The American people see the glaring double standard: one set of rules if your last name is Biden or Clinton and another set of rules for everyone else,” she added.

—Mychael Schnell

Supporters of former President Donald Trump honked their horns and screamed wildly as the former president arrived at the courthouse in downtown Miami to make his first appearance on criminal charges that he improperly held on to classified documents.

Those gathered outside did not interact with Trump, who rode in an SUV as part of a motorcade that entered the courthouse garage for his hearing on felony charges. Still, some sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who will turn 77 on Wednesday.

Hundreds of journalists from around the world were also on hand at the federal courthouse, as were anti-Trump protestors. Among the crowd, some waved signs and flags, with the two factions at times shouting over one another.

—Associated Press

Attorney Todd Blanche entered former President Trump’s not guilty plea, according to ABC News and CNN.

During his arraignment in Manhattan earlier this year, Trump himself had entered his plea.

—Zach Schonfeld

Special counsel Jack Smith is reportedly in the courtroom for Trump’s hearing before a judge on Tuesday.

CNN and CBS both reported that Smith is sitting in on the hearing, making it the first time he and the former president have come face-to-face since the indictment.

Trump earlier Tuesday railed against Smith, calling him a “Thug” and a “Trump Hater.”

Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham said she believes the former president is “dejected” about his indictment and court appearance.

“I think he’s absolutely dejected,” Grisham said on CNN. “He doesn’t want to be arrested… He doesn’t like that. He thinks that it’s not elegant. He thinks that it takes away some of his power deep down.”

“But being Trump, he’s going to double, triple down as he’s been doing. He’s going to fundraise off of it. He’s going to play the victim.”

Grisham worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign before serving as press secretary to the first lady and later to the president.

— Brett Samuels

Walt Nauta, a longtime Trump aide who was also indicted by the Justice Department, has also been booked at the Miami courthouse.

Nauta traveled to the courthouse in Trump’s motorcade along with his lawyer, though they did not ride in the same vehicle as the former president.

— Brett Samuels

Trump has been booked at the courthouse in Miami ahead of his appearance before a federal judge.

Officials said the former president technically was not “arrested” upon his arrival because he was appearing under a court summons.

But Trump was still fingerprinted and processed before making his way to the hearing set for 3 p.m.

— Brett Samuels

Trump aides posted video of his motorcade en route to the courthouse on Tuesday.

Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser on the Trump campaign, posted a short video of vehicles on an empty highway making their way to the former president’s court hearing.

— Brett Samuels

House Republican leaders are deflecting when asked about President Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents, redirecting attention to President Biden.

“Where is the discussion about a sitting president, that his Justice Department just indicted the top candidate that is going to run against them in less than two years?” Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday, hours before Trump’s scheduled arraignment in Florida.

He was if the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club was “the determination by [special counsel] Jack Smith, was that same provision applied to the current president when they found there were documents sitting behind his car in the garage?”

A separate special counsel was assigned to investigate the documents found in Biden’s possession. While Trump is accused of seeking to obstruct the investigation, Biden has apparently cooperated with returning documents.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) struck a similar note.

“Obviously, as you talk about the substance, when you first can’t get past the fact that juste is not being carried out equally,” he said.

— Emily Brooks

A federal magistrate judge will preside over former President Trump’s initial court appearance on Tuesday.

Jonathan Goodman was selected because he is the on-duty magistrate judge in the federal court’s Miami division on Tuesday.

As the case proceeds, however, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is assigned to preside.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, last year took the extraordinary step of appointing a special master after the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and she was twice overturned by a federal appeals court.

—Zach Schonfeld

Walt Nauta, the military aide who is charged alongside former President Trump in the classified documents case, is accompanying him to the federal courthouse in Miami, according to multiple reports.

Former President Trump is making his way to the federal courthouse in Miami, according to live shots on CNN and Fox News.

Trump had stayed overnight at his Doral golf club in Miami.

Most of the charges Trump is facing are counts of willful retention of national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. He is also facing charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal and making false statements and representations. 

The Espionage Act declares that obtaining information relating to national defense to be used “to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation” is illegal. 

Read more on the law here.

— Jared Gans

Just hours before Trump’s arraignment, the head of the House Democratic Caucus expressed disbelief that Republicans on Capitol Hill would continue to support the former president even as the formal allegations against him pile up.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) noted that more than 50 GOP lawmakers have already endorsed Trump’s presidential bid in 2024, calling it a “troubling” development, particularly in light of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

“The allegations are incredibly troubling. And the fact that House Republicans continue to try to come to his rescue just blows our mind, quite honestly,” Aguilar said during a press briefing in the Capitol. “And it stems from the fact that this is the leader of their party. They — lock stock and barrel — will follow what the former president says.”

Read more here.

— Mike Lillis