What to expect at Donald Trump's federal court indictment hearing | DW News

Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Miami on Tuesday in a historic criminal case in which the former US president is accused of hoarding top-secret government documents, showing them to visitors and attempting to hide them from investigators.

In the court, he is expected to deny 37 felony counts that accuse him of willfully retaining classified records that prosecutors say could have jeopardized national security if exposed. The case poses profound legal consequences given the prospect of a potential multi-year prison sentence.

It's also a watershed moment for the US Justice Department that until last week had never before brought charges against a former president. The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, is the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump.

Ex-president faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to meddle with the results of the 2020 race.

What does indictment say?
The 37-count indictment includes violations of the Espionage Act, which criminalizes unauthorized possession of defense information, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to his residence at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the presidency in January 2021.

The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the US and foreign governments, as well as a Pentagon "attack plan," the indictment says.

The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.

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