Donald Trump makes return to NJ after arraignment in Miami, calls charges 'fake'

BEDMINSTER — Just hours after former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal counts related to his handling of classified documents after departing the White House, he took to the steps of his golf club to assure supporters he would fight the charges — and seek retribution.

“Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” Trump said Tuesday night at Trump National Golf Club, after returning from his appearance in federal court in Miami.

Trump compared his indictment to something that would happen in a “fascist” nation.

Accusing President Joe Biden of corruption, Trump called the charges against him “fake” and “fabricated.” He went on to claim he had retained the documents legally, and suggested that the case brought against him was motivated entirely by politics. Trump later vowed retribution for the Biden family if he regains the presidency in 2024.

“This day will go down in infamy and Joe Biden will forever be remembered as not only the most corrupt president in the history of our country but, perhaps even more importantly, as the president who, together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits and Marxists, tried to destroy American democracy,” the former president said.

Trump said Biden was interfering with the 2024 general election and alleged that other presidents have also kept the paperwork they received while in office, though his only specific example was former President Bill Clinton, who kept audio recordings.

Trump also peppered his remarks with critiques of the Biden administration's energy and foreign policies. At one point, he claimed he would be able to end the war in Ukraine in just "24 hours."

He also pledged to “appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family.”

The crowd chanted “Lock him up” in reply.

Trump also used the speech to lay out what is likely to be a key part of his defense's legal strategy: that he kept the classified records under the auspices of the Presidential Records Act. Legal experts have said this strategy is problematic.

The former president mocked the fact that he was being accused of violating the Espionage Act and that he could face prison time, saying that the charges were more suited for “traitors and spies” and has “nothing to do with a former president legally keeping his own documents.”

The former president later brought up his former opponent Hillary Clinton and her email server as well as documents found at the Biden residence in Delaware from his time as vice president.

The former president also took aim at the media, specifically The Washington Post and The New York Times, for writing about leaks from the Department of Justice.

And he didn't pull punches when expressing his thoughts about Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed for the case.

“The prosecutor in our case is a thug … I’ve named him deranged Jack Smith,” Trump said. “His record is atrocious.”

Trump also alleged that photographs included in the indictment were "fabricated" and that the boxes found at his Mar-a-Lago compound in Florida contained news clippings, mementos and photographs. He accused the FBI of staging the photos.

Trump said the “gun-toting FBI agents” who entered Mar-a-Lago violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects citizens from "unreasonable" searches.

Although Trump didn’t take the stage until just after 8:45 p.m., his supporters began to gather at Trump National Golf Club hours before his scheduled appearance. About 400 of his ardent supporters were on hand to cheer for the former president’s predictable talking points.

Some in the crowd — of predominantly white men — wore red "Make America Great Again" caps, and others, including disgraced New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, had drinks on a patio outside the clubhouse on the Bedminster property while they waited for Trump's return from Miami.

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Arraigned in Miami

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, in federal court in Miami, Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces in connection with his handling of classified documents since leaving office in 2021.

Trump first arrived in Miami on Monday afternoon and opted to stay at the Trump National Doral in Miami rather than his Mar-a-Lago resort because of its proximity to the courthouse.

The first former president to face federal criminal charges, Trump was flanked by Secret Service agents as he entered the courthouse Tuesday at about 1:45 p.m.

During the brief hearing, Trump did not speak as government attorneys argued that the former president should have no contact with potential witnesses. Attorneys and federal Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman eventually agreed that Trump could not talk with witnesses about the case.

Trump also agreed not to talk to Walt Nauta, his co-defendant, about the case. Nauta was also present but did not appear before a judge on Tuesday. Instead, he was there in his capacity as Trump’s personal aide.

What the indictment says

A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida filed a 44-page indictment on charges related to the hundreds of classified documents seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

The indictment alleges that Trump held on to classified records after leaving the White House — and then hid them from his own lawyer and the FBI.

Trump is accused of not just storing and hiding the documents, but showing them to guests at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. He said one document described a “plan of attack" and another had a map of a military installation, according to the indictment. He allegedly knew the documents were classified, saying "this is still a secret," according to the indictment.

Attorney Todd Blanche is defending Trump. Blanche participated in Trump's New York state criminal case, in which he is charged with falsifying business records to pay hush money to women who claimed to have had sex with him.

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Blanche will succeed lawyers Jim Trusty and John Rowley, who had been leading Trump's team dealing with federal charges. Trump thanked the two, but said he would be announcing more lawyers in the coming days. Trump pleaded not guilty in the New York case and awaits trial in March.

The U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon was appointed to the bench by Trump. She ordered a special master to review the documents after the FBI seized them during a search in August. Trump requested the review by arguing the records could be off limits to investigators because of attorney-client or executive privilege.

But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned her order, saying a defendant traditionally challenges the evidence in a case after charges are filed.

Among the charges Trump faces are 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act and one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal, and making false statements and representations for allegedly causing his lawyer to certify that all classified documents had been turned over to federal authorities on June 3.

Nauta, Trump’s longtime personal aide and former White House valet, also faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Raising money, courting public opinion

Despite facing federal charges, Trump is still actively running for president in 2024.

After his remarks, he will host the first major fundraiser of his 2024 campaign. The fundraiser was planned before Trump’s indictment. The former president is scheduled to speak at a convention of anti-abortion activists to be held June 29 to July 2 in Philadelphia.

But a few of his opponents for the Republican nomination have weighed in. Even before the charges were filed, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson called on Trump to withdraw from the race.

But Trump’s most vocal critic has been a longtime friend, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. On Monday night Christie called the former president “angry” and “vengeful” during a national town hall with Anderson Cooper on CNN.

Christie pulled no punches, calling Trump a "loser, loser, loser" and saying the charges he faces are the result of “vanity run amok.”

A former U.S. attorney, Christie said he guarantees there’s a lot more evidence than what has been laid out in the 37 indictments and predicts that there will be a lot of witnesses when the case moves on to trial.

USA TODAY Staff Writers Bart Jansen, Josh Meyer and Rachel Looker contributed to this story.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse.

Email: sobko@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Trump speech in NJ decries indictment after return from arraignment