June 14, 2023 The latest on Trump’s historic federal indictment

Donald Trump’s campaign said Wednesday it raised more than $7 million since the former president was indicted last week.

The $7 million figure is an update from $6.6 million, which Trump’s campaign first reported Wednesday.

Trump appeared in a Miami courtroom Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents.

This headline has been updated with the latest fundraising number provided by the Trump campaign.

GOP presidential candidate Mike Pence said Wednesday that it’s too early to discuss whether or not he would pardon former President Donald Trump if convicted of federal charges.

Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents. The charges present the possibility of several years in prison if Trump is convicted.

Pence’s interview on the conservative talk show got a bit heated as host Clay Travis tried to get Pence to directly say whether he’d pardon Trump.

Travis pushed back at Pence, telling him, “With all due respect, when you aren’t telling us what your decision would be, I think you’re dodging the question and frankly, not stepping up on the front of leadership, which in the past you’ve been willing to do. So to me, not answering is a no.”

“Number one, I don’t think you know what the president’s defense is, do you?” Pence shot back. “I mean, what are the facts? I mean, look, we either believe in our judicial process in this country or we don’t. We either stand by the rule of law or we don’t.”

Travis then interjected: “What I’m hearing is you’re fine with Donald Trump being put in prison, sir. And that to me, since you were his vice president, feels pretty disrespectful.”

In response, Pence said his “standard rule” is that he doesn’t discuss hypothetical situations.

His response echoes comments he made during a CNN town hall last week in Iowa. When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash whether he’d pardon Trump, Pence similarly said he did not want to speak about hypotheticals.

Boxes of classified documents are stored in a bathroom and shower inside the Mar-a-Lago Club’s Lake Room in this photo included in Donald Trump’s federal indictment.

It is true that most of the crimes – 31 of the 37 counts – that former President Donald Trump has been accused of committing stem from the Espionage Act. But it is a complete mischaracterization to say that Trump has been accused of espionage in the common definition.

The federal indictment released Friday describes him sloppily hoarding classified documents at his private clubs, after all, not selling secrets to a foreign country.

According to CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero, a typical spy would be charged under the Espionage Act. But so would someone who improperly retained national defense information.

An outline of laws related to classified and sensitive information by the Congressional Research Service describes a system “based on a complex and often overlapping set of statutes or individual provisions within statutes.”

There is no single law meant to cover all of these cases. While mishandling or inappropriately storing national security material is clearly a risk, one obstacle in convicting Trump could be that he did not appear to be using it against the United States – selling it or giving it to a foreign country – but rather just bragging about having it.

A separate argument being put forward on Trump’s behalf is that presidents have the authority to declassify information, so Trump cannot have improperly held classified information.

But Trump, according to the indictment, is on tape referring to material as still classified and admitting that, since he is no longer president, he lacked the ability to declassify it.

There’s also more to the indictment than simply the portions dealing with the Espionage Act. Trump is also accused of withholding, corruptly concealing and scheming to conceal documents in a federal investigation, along with making false statements.

Read more:

Sen. John Cornyn walks through the Capitol Building on June 1, in Washington, DC. 

The day after former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal charges in a Miami federal court, members of the GOP are continuing to be asked about the conduct of their party’s current 2024 front-runner.

Here’s what Republicans are saying today:

Sen. Mitt Romney, an outspoken critic of Trump, dismissed the former president’s claim that he can hold onto classified documents after leaving the White House.

“If you’re surprised by Donald Trump and something he says, I’d be shocked,” Romney said when asked by CNN about Trump’s claim. “That’s his MO, which is to say something challenging, outrageous, surprising and see if we can get people to look at it. This is something that’s gonna be resolved over time we have to decide who we want to have lead our country in a very critical time.”

Romney added: “He has the right to defend himself and put out real or unreal arguments.”

Sen. Rick Scott, a Trump defender, claimed Hillary Clinton was never investigated and the FBI never explained why she wasn’t prosecuted. When pressed on his false assertion, Scott didn’t answer directly.

“All those facts will come out and we will see what really happened. But I think Merrick Garland out to come out and explain why Hillary Clinton was never investigated,” the senator said.

Told that she was investigated, he said they need to explain more even though the FBI did explain why Clinton was not prosecuted. “I don’t think they explained why,” Scott said.

Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership who has said little about the indictment, told CNN he has concerns about Trump’s conduct.

“I do have concern about all the news about the misuse of classified information,” Cornyn said. “I happen to be on the Senate Intelligence Committee and I get classified briefings on a regular basis.”

Another Republican senator, Sen. Chuck Grassley, was asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump’s actions, given the concerns he has previously raised about Hillary Clinton.

He said, “The only concern I have about it is what I’m hearing from Iowans. And that is the unequal application of the law, different prosecutions for people of different political parties, that’s the only question I can raise about the two cases that you’re asking about.”

Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, defended Trump, equating the former president’s case to the investigation of Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and calling for the Justice Department’s handling of the two cases a “double standard.” 

When asked by CNN’s Manu Raju about the details laid out in the Trump indictment, Marshall expressed skepticism about the allegations, saying “I’m not sure what we do and don’t know” and reiterating his call for equal application of the laws.  

“We just want to see the law applied equally, and then let the chips fall where they may,” Marshall continued. 

House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman called for FBI Director Christopher Wray to be impeached and accused the Justice Department of unfairly politicizing the Trump federal indictment.

When asked if he believes the House should impeach the FBI director, Norman said, “Yes.”

Norman also called for special counsel Jack Smith to testify before Congress and suggested Smith has a personal bias against Trump.

“Put him on, ask him some questions. He’s a known Trump hater, way back when, so let him answer the question,” Norman said.

“Jack Smith ought to come in, I think he will, and this is just the beginning of a long investigation,” Norman later added. 

 Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy also expressed openness to having Smith testify, citing “serious concerns” about potential political influence on the investigation.

“(Smith) can come in and talk about it,” Roy said.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, Tuesday, June 13, in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Former president Donald Trump has repeatedly compared his classified documents case to the Hillary Clinton email probe, claiming unfair treatment.

He did so most recently on Tuesday when Trump said he was the victim of a politicized Justice Department because he was indicted on charges of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the federal investigation into his conduct, while his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, didn’t face charges from her own classified documents scandal, stemming from her use of a private email server to conduct government business while she was secretary of state.

Trump claimed Clinton had a “deliberate intention” of violating records retention laws and that “there’s never been obstruction as grave” as what she did to undermine her own FBI probe in 2015-2016. He also said, “Hillary Clinton broke the law, and she didn’t get indicted” because “the FBI and Justice Department protected her,” although there isn’t any evidence that their decision-making was tainted by politics.

Facts First: This is an inaccurate and self-serving comparison. Investigators saw problems with how both Trump and Clinton handled classified material, but there are several key differences between their cases. For starters, Trump mishandled far more material. Also, he was charged with knowingly breaking the law and obstructing the investigation, while the FBI concluded that Clinton didn’t act with criminal intent.

Read more about this here.

First Lady Jill Biden speaks before President Joe Biden addresses service members and their families at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, June 9.

First lady Dr. Jill Biden is emerging as a prominent voice taking on Republicans and former President Donald Trump since his indictment – even as the White House has maintained a stay-silent strategy on the legal case.

In her first solo events of the campaign, the first lady has not shied away from critiquing the former president and offered a rare comment related to his legal woes as she reflected on Republican support for Trump despite his indictment.

In a pair of Democratic fundraisers in California Tuesday evening, she warned of the impact “MAGA Republicans” would have on the country and framed the presidential election as a choice between the “corruption and chaos” of the Trump administration and stability offered by her husband.

The first lady’s willingness to take on Trump and Republicans has coincided with her stepped up efforts to raise money for the reelection campaign. She has been the only principal so far to speak in a political venue since news of Trump’s indictment broke last week, providing her a chance to lay out the differences with Trump and the GOP in the early stages of the campaign.

But her brief comment on the indictment also makes her the lone exception for a White House and campaign that have embraced a strategy of silence regarding the former president’s legal case.

The president has repeatedly declined to weigh in on the indictment, and Biden’s advisers are all on the same page that any substantive comments about the case could risk providing Trump with fodder for his accusations that investigations into him are politically motivated.

Read more here.

Attorney General Merrick Garland answers a question during a meeting with all of the U.S. Attorneys to discuss violent crime reduction strategies ahead of any potential surge in violence crime over the summer.

Attorney General Merrick Garland defended special counsel Jack Smith in the Department of Justice’s indictment of former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents and declined to comment on the case.

“Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor. He has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law,” the attorney general said.

“Any questions about this matter will have to be answered by their filings in court,” he added.

In a speech to supporters Tuesday night just hours after he was arraigned in Florida, Trump slammed the indictment and Smith’s investigation, claiming it is a “heinous abuse of power.”

On his role in the special counsel’s decision to indict Trump, Garland said he followed regulations related to special counsels but did not elaborate. “I followed those regulations,” he said.

The attorney general also noted that the Justice Department would be vigilant “to ensure that there are no threats of violence” or acts of violence related to the classified documents case against Trump.

CNN’s Holmes Lybrand contributed reporting to this post.

Former Arkansas governor and current Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson speaks with POLITICO journalists at POLITICO's offices in Arlington, Virginia, on June 14.

Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that he was surprised by GOP 2024 rival Nikki Haley’s comments that she’d be inclined to pardon former President Donald Trump if he were convicted, saying it’s “simply wrong” to be discussing pardons this early in the case.

“It surprises me. The pardon power of the president is so important to our justice system, but it is always considered after — generally after a conviction or whenever this element of justice requires it. It shouldn’t be part of a political campaign,” Hutchinson said on MSNBC.

Hutchinson previously on CNN had slammed Vivek Ramaswamy for promising to pardon Trump if he’s elected president.

Hutchinson stands alone in that he’s the only Republican candidate calling for Trump to drop out of the race in the wake of being indicted on federal charges. He and former Gov. Chris Christie have been critical of Trump’s alleged handling of classified documents outlined in the indictment.

On MSNBC, Hutchinson stressed patience, saying that it’ll be “a difficult 18 months that’s ahead of us between now and the election” given that “we don’t even know whether this is going to be resolved before then.”

“But if you value the discussion of the issues, if you value the presidency and our country, let’s not get sidetracked for the next 18 months on the defense of a significant criminal case that is going to ensnarl the candidates in a side issue that is not helpful to the voters in looking at the future of our country,” the former governor added.

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on June 13.

Hours after appearing in a Miami federal court and pleading not guilty to 37 federal charges, former President Donald Trump raised $2.04 million at a fundraiser at his New Jersey Bedminster golf resort Tuesday night, according to a person familiar.

Politico first reported Trump’s fundraising haul. 

Trump hobnobbed with high-dollar donors, chatting over crab cakes and beef at a preplanned campaign event. He asked guests what they thought of his arraignment and his subsequent remarks, and reveled at the extensive coverage throughout the day, according to multiple sources present. 

The former president also complained about the indictment and praised himself for his handling of it. 

Trump’s political team was in markedly higher spirits than the evening after Trump’s Manhattan indictment, which one aide described at the time as the most “emotionally draining” day of their life. 

Advisers pointed to Trump’s stop at Versailles, a popular Cuban restaurant in Miami, as a winning moment of the day, believing that it provided positive visuals of Trump on a day his every move dominated media coverage. 

The Trump team’s playbook to handle mounting legal woes is in part to play them out in the court of public opinion — another reason for their stop at the Cuban cafe — to try and draw a comparison between Trump’s federal indictment and decades of brutal political persecution at the hands of an oppressive Cuban regime.  

Trump and his team have worked to paint his multiple legal battles as a “political witch hunt” and “election interference” by Democrats. 

Sources also maintained that Trump would continue with a robust presidential campaign schedule — despite facing federal charges. But Trump’s legal peril is likely to cloud his campaign.  

Over the weekend Trump spoke at two Republican conventions, delivering remarks that focused on his multitude of legal battles at length before turning to brief political remarks. 

Former President Donald Trump's aide Walt Nauta, center, visits Versailles restaurant with Trump on Tuesday, June 13, in Miami. 

Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendant and aide Walt Nauta will continue to travel together and work side-by-side, a Trump adviser told CNN.

On Tuesday during Trump’s arraignment in Miami federal court, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump must not communicate with Nauta about the case. The judge also said he recognized it would be “impossible” for Trump and Nauta to end all communication because of their close working relationship.

More background: Nauta was indicted last week in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents from the Trump White House. He faces six counts, including several obstruction- and concealment-related charges stemming from the alleged conduct.

Prosecutors allege that Nauta lied to investigators when he was interviewed by the FBI in May 2022, according to the indictment. He allegedly falsely said he was not aware of boxes being brought to Trump’s residence for his review before Trump provided 15 boxes to the National Archives in 2022. But Nauta himself had helped move boxes from the storage room to Trump’s residence, according to the indictment.

Nauta was arrested, fingerprinted and processed Tuesday alongside Trump. He had an initial court appearance but will not be arraigned until June 27.

CNN’s Evan Perez, Sara Murray, Tierney Sneed and Jeremy Herb contributed reporting to this post. 

Police rush to move a protester who was holding a sign in the street as Trump's motorcade arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami.

The Miami Police Department released the arrest report of the individual who jumped in front of Donald Trump’s motorcade as the former president was leaving federal court on Tuesday.

According to the report, the individual, Domenic Santana, “put the former President’s life in danger” when he “ran into the middle of the street” and blocked the motorcade, causing one car to swerve in order to not hit Santana.

The arrest form included three state charges of disorderly conduct, resisting an officer and obstructing traffic. The local charges Santana faces could change before an initial court appearance.

No federal charges are expected, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told CNN. Santana was interviewed by federal agents after his arrest and claimed he stepped into the roadway to avoid a crowd of Trump supporters and did not realize the motorcade was approaching. 

The arrest report says Santana was dressed in a white prisoner costume and carrying a sign that said “lock him up” in reference to Trump. Santana already had altercations with Trump supporters that day, and was told to avoid the area where the supporters were, but Santana “kept enticing the crowd,” according to the report.

Santana’s “actions of interrupting the motorcade put the former President’s life in danger,” according to the report. “The defendant’s actions caused the public and media to run towards him, storming the street while the defendant yelled at the Trump supporters as to entice them.”

The report continues: “Officers ran towards the defendant and while attempting to take him into custody he tensed up his arms and pulled away, resisting officers” before being arrested.”

Former President Donald Trump delivered a blunt message to Americans on Tuesday night, speaking outside his New Jersey club hours after pleading not guilty in a Miami courtroom to a vast and damning federal indictment.

“Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” Trump said of his second arraignment in three months, adding that the “day will go down in infamy.”

The former president and 2024 GOP primary frontrunner may be in dire legal straits, but as a candidate, his tactics are becoming clear to see: Incite anger at those prosecuting him and play the role of martyr to his fans.

But for his presidential rivals, the equation – and the path forward – is much less clear.

No one in the large primary field has delivered a message as politically coherent as Trump’s – who, for all his rambling and chaotic asides, has proven himself a uniquely effective communicator. None have yet been able to compete for attention with their party’s leader, even as some are beginning to quietly test out less sympathetic takes.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been Trump’s most ardent primary critic, but even his harshest lines have lacked his famous edge. Even then, they’ve been the exception. The most popular responses so far have included, first and most often, a professed ignorance about the case coupled with venom for the Justice Department; half-hearted criticism of the alleged act, though rarely the actor; and, especially among the lowest polling candidates, chest-pounding promises to ally themselves with Trump in his fight with prosecutors.

Read more here.

Former President Donald Trump prays with pastor Mario Bramnick, third from right, and others at Versailles restaurant on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Miami.

Donald Trump can still run as president while indicted — or if he is convicted.

“Nothing stops Trump from running while indicted, or even convicted,” the University of California, Los Angeles, law professor Richard Hasen has told CNN.

The Constitution requires only three things of candidates: They must be a natural born citizen, at least 35 years old and a resident of the US for at least 14 years.

There are a few other Constitutional restrictions that can block a person for running for president — but they don’t apply to Trump:

Term limits: The 22nd Amendment forbids anyone who has twice been president — meaning twice been elected or served half of someone else’s term and then won his or her own — from running again. That doesn’t apply to former President Donald Trump since he lost the 2020 election.

Impeachment: If a person is impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of high crimes and misdemeanors, he or she is removed from office and disqualified from serving again. Trump, although twice impeached by the House during his presidency, was also twice acquitted by the Senate.

Disqualification: The 14th Amendment includes a “disqualification clause,” written specifically with an eye toward former Confederate soldiers.

It reads:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

The indictment in New York City with regard to the hush-money payments to an adult-film star has nothing to do with rebellion or insurrection. Federal charges related to classified documents likely do not either.

Potential charges in Fulton County, Georgia, with regard to 2020 election meddling or at the federal level with regard to the January 6, 2021, insurrection could perhaps be construed by some as a form of insurrection. But that is an open question that would have to work its way through the courts. The 2024 election is fast approaching.

Aileen Cannon serves as a US district judge for the Southern District of Florida.

Tuesday’s hearing was handled by Magistrate Judge Goodman, but now the case will move into the courtroom of District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge whose prior rulings have raised questions about how she will handle the case.

Cannon’s approach to last year’s Trump lawsuit challenging the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search raised eyebrows among legal experts across the ideological spectrum for how she appeared to bend over backward to create special legal rules in favor of the former president.

Her rationale for why such a review was necessary was torn apart by a panel of right-leaning appellate judges, including two Trump appointees, on the US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals last December.

Cannon sits in Ft. Pierce, Florida, but is part of the pool of judges who are randomly assigned cases filed in West Palm Beach, where the new indictment was brought.

Goodman concluded Tuesday’s hearing acknowledging his limited role in the Trump case. “My involvement ends right about now,” he said.

Read more about the Cannon here.

Fulton County, Georgia, Sheriff Pat Labat said Tuesday that his office has sent teams to the federal courthouse in Miami and to New York City, where Donald Trump made a previous court appearance, to prepare in case an indictment of the former president should happen in his state.

Labat described the visits as “an opportunity to learn and make sure we are equally prepared.”

More about the Georgia case: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis oversaw a special grand jury investigating what Trump or his allies may have done in their efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Willis, a Democrat, is considering bringing conspiracy and racketeering charges, CNN has reported.

The probe was launched in 2021 following Trump’s phone call that January with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he pushed the Republican to “find” votes to overturn the election results.

Willis announced remote workdays for her staff in August and asked judges to refrain from in-person hearings for parts of that month, according to a letter obtained by CNN in May. It is the latest indication that Willis is likely to make her charging decisions public during that timeframe in August.

This screengrab shows a portion of the release conditions document signed by former President Donald Trump.

A document, signed by Donald Trump, outlining his release conditions following yesterday’s arrest and arraignment of the former president in Miami, Florida, has been released by the federal court.  

Trump signed the bond documents in court, near the end of the 50-minute proceeding, with his thick black signature visible as he handed the paperwork back to courtroom officials.

The document notes a special release condition added by Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman prohibiting Trump from communicating “about the facts of the case, except through counsel” to anyone on a witness list provided by the government.

The condition was added after a lengthy back and forth between the judge and Trump’s attorney.

Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, resisted the idea originally posed by the judge of barring all contact with the case’s witnesses, in a back-and-forth with the judge that played out over several rounds.

“The folks that are part of the government’s case are folks that” work with Trump every day, Blanche added. He also noted that one “key” witness was still a lawyer for Trump, and the condition that Trump can’t talk to his lawyer “doesn’t work.”

Prosecutor David Harbach suggested that the Justice Department team would draft a list that would be “narrow in scope” – not “exhaustive” of all the witnesses prosecutors may call at trial – that would address the judge’s concerns about witness contact, while accommodating Trump’s situation.

The judge floated an idea that the government could make a two-category list: one of witnesses with whom Trump was to have no contact, and another where he would be restricted from discussing the details of the case.

Still, Blanche objected to that approach, calling it unnecessary and “potentially unworkable.”

The White House in Washington, DC, on June 5.

As history was underway in South Florida, the response at the White House was intentionally muted. A day earlier, some aides professed to not even know when former President Donald Trump’s arraignment was scheduled.

Biden aides have long prepared for the possibility of Trump being charged in the special counsel’s probe into the former president’s retention of classified documents. After Biden was informed of the indictment by members of his senior team on Thursday evening, there was little question what the strategy would be: Continue to say nothing publicly about the matter while allowing the contrast afforded by a president focused on his public duties to play out.

Biden himself appears to want little to do with Trump’s predicament. While Trump was being arraigned, he was meeting Uruguay’s president behind closed doors.

A few hours later, recalling his lengthy meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping to a group of American ambassadors, he seemed to swiftly recognize a joke that might be misconstrued.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been questioned about the bombshell indictment – he’d already refused to comment at least four times previously – and he and his team recognize it probably won’t be the last.

Saying nothing, Biden’s aides acknowledge, will test a notoriously unreserved president as the legal saga persists for months, if not longer. But if there is one topic on which they believe he can maintain a degree of message discipline, it is not wading into ongoing legal matters – this one in particular.

Biden’s advisers are all on the same page that any comment about the case risks providing Trump with grist to fuel his claims of political persecution. And Biden has told team members that Trump’s own interference in Justice Department matters is a reason he ran for president in the first place.

Close allies of the White House have adopted a similar stance, and Biden’s team has sent the implicit message that anyone associated with the president should avoid saying anything that might link him to the case, according to people familiar with the matter.

Keep reading here.

Former President Donald Trump as he appeared in a Miami federal courthouse on Tuesday facing 37 charges involving the handling of classified documents.

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 charges Tuesday in a brief but historic court appearance following his arrest and processing on federal charges.

Trump made clear, once again, Tuesday that he has no plans to stop attacking the special counsel’s indictment – and the other legal peril he faces – as he runs for president again in 2024.

Here are takeaways from the arraignment:

A historic moment. Regardless of what happens next with the case against Trump, the federal charges are a historic moment – one that is sure to have a significant impact on the outcome of the 2024 GOP primary.

Contact with witnesses in the case. While most of Tuesday’s hearing followed an expected script, the proceedings were dragged out by a disagreement over whether Trump should be restricted from talking to certain witnesses in the case. That prohibition was not initially recommended in the bond proposal that prosecutors had put forward. But Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman raised the concern himself about Trump’s contact with witnesses.

No major incidents during protests. Tuesday’s court appearance came and went without any major security incidents, as supporters and protesters lined the streets surrounding the courthouse.

After the arraignment. Trump’s first stop after leaving the courthouse was Versailles, a well-known Cuban restaurant in Miami. The stop immediately put Trump back in his element, surrounded by supporters looking to shake hands and take photos. It underscored the fact that Trump’s legal turmoil is playing out amid a 2024 Republican primary where Trump’s legal troubles have been a central storyline, both for his campaign and his presidential rivals.

Nauta has to come back. Walt Nauta, Trump’s co-defendant, did not enter a plea because he did not have a local attorney. Nauta, who faces six charges, made his initial appearance Tuesday alongside the former president. Nauta is being represented by Washington, DC-based attorney Stanley Woodward. An arraignment for Nauta has been set for June 27.

What’s next? Tuesday’s hearing was handled by Magistrate Judge Goodman, but now the case will move into the courtroom of District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge whose prior rulings have raised questions about how she will handle the case.

Republican presidential candidate and former vice president Mike Pence leaves a campaign stop at the Machine Shed Restaurant on June 8 in Urbandale, Iowa.

GOP presidential candidate Mike Pence on Wednesday said the Donald Trump indictment “contains serious charges” and that he “cannot defend what is alleged” about the former president’s handling of classified documents.

“The very prospect (of) what is alleged here took place, creating an opportunity where highly sensitive classified material could have fallen into the wrong hands even inadvertently, that- that jeopardizes our national security. It puts at risk the men and women of our armed forces,” he added.

But he also said that Trump has a “right to his day in court” and that he “can’t believe that politics didn’t play some role here.”

“We’ve seen the politicization at the Department of Justice for years and years, we saw FBI agents had falsified official documents to further that Russia hoax,” he said.

He vowed to “clean house at the top of the Department of Justice” if he’s elected president.

The motorcade carrying former President Donald Trump arrives at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. US Courthouse in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, June 13.

In defiant remarks after his arraignment, former President Donald Trump reinforced the impression he views the law with contempt. By ignoring the gravity of a situation he created, he once again put immediate personal and political needs ahead of the national interest – a trend reflected in his haphazard storage of classified documents in a bathroom, ballroom and shower.

Tuesday’s political choreography showed this approach is more than a political strategy. It revealed a deeper, emerging reality about the 2024 campaign:

This unprecedented domination of an American presidential election by a major candidate’s personal legal plight will have important implications for Trump and his opponents.

Trump’s decision to make the entire Republican primary about his legal problems is a conundrum for GOP rivals who have largely failed to find a way to define themselves against the ex-president without alienating many of his supporters. The alleged offenses outlined in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment are so grave that they require those circling the wagons around Trump to ignore potentially huge threats to national security posed by his lax storage of secret documents. The focus on Trump also makes it very hard for other candidates to shift the arguments of the campaign onto other themes GOP voters want addressed – including immigration and “woke” policies that they think are eroding traditional American culture.

Trump’s strategy – and his rhetoric on Tuesday evening – also begs another question: Do Republican voters want to fully commit to a campaign almost exclusively focusing on his personal grievances and legal fate? Other than warning that he is taking heat from the Justice Department to shield his supporters, Trump hasn’t offered much of a campaign message to GOP voters on the economy, health care, national security, education and other key issues. His fighter’s mentality and flouting of rules is core to his appeal, but his personality cult has tended to drown out the party’s ideological priorities in recent years. One of his top GOP rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has tried to get at this point by arguing that he could be far more effective in implementing “Make America Great Again” political priorities as president.

The salience of Trump’s grievance campaign could become even more relevant in a general election. The former president already had an uphill task in appealing to suburban swing voters he alienated in 2020. A campaign that seems like a personal crusade to keep himself out of jail might make the task of winning them back even more complicated.

Read more of Collinson’s analysis here.