Updates: Ex-president Trump faces charges over classified files

The federal indictment against Donald Trump opens what is expected to be a busy weekend for the former president, as he continues to campaign for a second term in office as part of the 2024 presidential race.

On Saturday, Trump is anticipated to appear at Georgia’s annual Republican convention, despite being under investigation in the state for alleged interference in the 2020 election results.

However, some notable figures will be absent from the convention lineup: Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, are projected to be no-shows. In a now-infamous 2021 phone call, Trump had pressed Raffensperger to “find” votes that would tip the 2020 election in his favour.

That same day, Trump is also expected to make a stop at North Carolina’s own Republican convention in the city of Greensboro. Both states are expected to be closely contested in the 2024 presidential race.

Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher, speaking from Washington, DC, explained that there may be advantages to a longer court timeline for Trump.

“Certainly he [Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith] would like to get it done quicker,” Fisher said of the legal proceedings.

But, Fisher explained, “Donald Trump would like to drag this out for a number of reasons. One, it means that if it goes to after the election, it might not damage his chances of winning the Republican Party nomination. And if he is jailed, then he wins, then he could pardon himself. And if Ron DeSantis won, for example, Ron DeSantis has already said he would pardon Donald Trump. But there’s a long way to go before that.”

Donald Trump may remain the frontrunner so far for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but the hopefuls hot on his heels are divided about what Friday’s indictment means for the race.

Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted on Friday to denounce the proceedings: “This is not how justice should be pursued in our country.”

But she added a note of exhaustion: “It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions.”

Trump’s ex-vice president, Mike Pence, told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday that he had hoped the US justice department would not proceed with the charges: “I’m deeply troubled to see this indictment move forward.”

“But let me be very clear,” Pence continued. “No one is above the law.”

That was a sentiment former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie echoed, though he added his own mordant twist: “No one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were.”

Trump’s top rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, meanwhile blasted the indictment of the “weaponisation of federal law enforcement.”

And former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson came out swinging against Trump in a strongly worded statement: “Donald Trump’s actions – from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law – should not define our nation or the Republican Party.”

Trump’s legal woes have yet to dent his popularity with Republican voters, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

But the latest indictment against him could give his GOP rivals in the 2024 presidential nomination race ammunition to attack his national security credentials. So far, they have largely sided with him.

“It’s impossible to bet against Trump’s staying power with the Republican base,” said Matt Bennett of the centre-left think tank Third Way. “But this conduct charged in this indictment is even worse than we expected – that might break through.”

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington, DC, has said there is some scepticism around the special counsel’s promise to pursue a “speedy trial” against Trump.

“How can this be a speedy trial?” Rattansi said, pointing to a separate trial that the former president faces in New York that is expected to begin in March of next year.

“Then after that, the election season will be in full swing. The Department of Justice has a policy that it won’t prosecute people if it might affect the outcome of an election. So that would suggest that they couldn’t have a trial then,” he reported.

“There’s a certain amount of scepticism over how speedy this trial could be. And of course, if Donald Trump does win the presidency in the end, whether it will ever happen at all.”

Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has said he does not think his former boss should suspend his campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination.

“I think any consideration of that is premature,” Pence, who is also seeking the GOP nomination, told a reporter while campaigning at a diner in Derry, New Hampshire.

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty in America. I think the former president has a right to make his defence,” he said.

US President Joe Biden has declined to comment on the indictment against his predecessor.

Speaking to reporters while travelling in North Carolina, Biden also said he has not spoken to Attorney General Merrick Garland about it.

“I have not spoken to him at all. I’m not going to speak to him,” Biden said.

He added: “I have no comment on what happened,” and repeated similar replies when pressed.

Top Democratic legislators have urged both Trump supporters and critics to allow the case against the former Republican president to “proceed peacefully in court”.

“No one is above the law – including Donald Trump. This indictment must now play out through the legal process, without any outside political or ideological interference,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement.

“We encourage Mr Trump’s supporters and critics alike to let this case proceed peacefully in court.”

The US Secret Service is preparing for Trump’s appearance at a federal court in Miami next week in relation to his indictment.

Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency “will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former president’s continued safety”, regarding Trump’s appearance.

He added: “As with any site visited by a protectee, the Secret Service is in constant coordination with the necessary entities to ensure protective requirements are met. We have the utmost confidence in the professionalism and commitment to security shared by our law enforcement partners in Florida.”

The latest case against Trump has been assigned to a controversial judge that the former president appointed, according to US media.

Judge Aileen Cannon was thrust into the spotlight last year when she issued what many legal experts saw as an extraordinary and unusually broad decision to appoint a “special master” to review the documents seized by the FBI in the investigation.

As part of that case, Cannon temporarily barred federal agents and prosecutors from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during the search. Her order was ultimately thrown out in a scathing opinion by a federal appeals court, which found she had overstepped.

Trump’s supporters had cheered her ruling as a check on what they viewed as a politically motivated probe.

Got to be kidding.
This judge must recuse.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, initially assigned to oversee his case: Sources https://t.co/dvbqBz97NB

— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) June 9, 2023

Prosecutors have said Trump’s conduct and statements constituted a “conspiracy to obstruct justice” in order to “keep classified documents he had taken with him from the White House and to hide and conceal them from a federal grand jury”.

Trump’s actions included suggesting his lawyer falsely represent to the FBI and grand jury that the former president did not have the documents sought by federal investigators; moving boxes to conceal them, and submitting a false certification to the FBI and grand jury that said all of the classified documents had been produced.

The indictment added Trump also made false and misleading statements to the FBI.

US Democrats have continued to stress what has become a slogan in relation to Trump’s legal troubles: “No one is above the law.”

No one is above the law. Not even Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/io9u9RXvqj

— Mike Quigley (@RepMikeQuigley) June 9, 2023

Michael Meltsner, a law professor at Northeastern University in Boston, has said the indictment against Trump contains serious allegations.

“Of course, he’s presumed innocent, but it’s a startling document,” Meltsner said of the indictment.

The professor cautioned against speculating this early in the legal process about the possible sentence Trump may receive if convicted.

“Yet, the charges – as set out in the indictment – are very, very serious,” he said.

There is nothing in US law that bars individuals charged or even convicted of crimes from running for president.

That means that Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign is not in peril due to the federal indictment.

It remains to be seen how the federal charges will affect the former president’s political standing, however. Legal obligations, such as court appearances, may also hinder Trump’s campaigning efforts.

In May 2022, Trump and his lawyers discussed a Department of Justice subpoena of outstanding classified documents.

One of those lawyers later detailed Trump’s response to federal investigators. The former president considered not complying, or outright lying, according to the indictment.

• “I don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t, I don’t want you looking through my boxes,” Trump allegedly said, according the lawyer, who spoke to investigators.
• “Well what if we, what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” Trump said.
• “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” Trump said.
• “Well look isn’t it better if there are no documents?” Trump said.

Smith has pledged to pursue a speedy trial in the case in accordance with US law.

“It’s very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” the special counsel told reporters.

“To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial on this matter consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused.”

The US Department of Justice has been investigating Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified records.

The probe centres on classified documents that Trump allegedly took to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida after leaving the White House in early 2021. The FBI conducted a search at the former president’s residence last August and seized a trove of files.

Some records were marked “top secret”, while folders with “classified” banners were also collected, though some were empty.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. After last year’s raid, his legal team had sought to block the Department of Justice from reviewing the files, saying they contain material protected from government scrutiny due to attorney-client or executive privilege.

Smith, the special counsel, has stressed the principle of equality under the law in brief remarks addressing the charges against Trump.

“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” Smith told reporters. “Applying those laws, collecting facts – that’s what determines the outcome of an investigation, nothing more, nothing less.”

Smith added that rules protecting national defence information are “critical” to US safety.

Trump has reiterated his innocence after the charges against him were made public.

“I supplied them openly, and without question, security tape from Mar-a-Lago. I had nothing to hide, nor do I now,” the former president wrote in a social media post.

“Nobody said I wasn’t allowed to look at the personal records that I brought with me from the White House. There’s nothing wrong with that.”