Trump announces he will plead not guilty in the case of the files at Mar-a-Lago

Donald Trump announced to Fox News that next Tuesday in the Miami court he will plead "not guilty" in the case of classified files brought to Mar-a-Lago. The former president of the United States changes the legal team. In an announcement on his social media Truth, the tycoon announced that he will no longer be represented by Jim Trusty and John Rowley but by two studios, the Todd Blanche Esq, and another whose name he will name in the coming days. "I have to face the greatest witch hunt of all time," the former president attacked.

"I was indicted" for the secret papers at Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump's announcement comes with a post on his social Truth amid the silence of the Department of Justice and special prosecutor Jack Smith investigating the former US president. For the tycoon - who will have to appear Tuesday at the Miami court - this is the second indictment in a few months, after the one for the payment to the star Stormy Daniels. And above all, a historic first: he becomes the first former president in American history to face accusations at the federal level.

Among the charges brought against the former president there would also be the violation of the Espionage Act for having voluntarily withheld documents related to national defense and not having handed them over to those responsible. This is reported by the American media.

From his fort in Bedminster, New Jersey, surrounded by his political advisers and as his lawyers try to figure out what the accusations are against him, Trump has launched heavy accusations and leaked his anger. "Today is a dark day for America," he wrote, describing himself as an "innocent man." The first posts were followed by a four-minute video in which the former president addressed his supporters. "They go against a popular president" with the "box hoax. This is interference in elections at the highest level. I am an innocent man. They want to destroy my reputation because they want to win elections," Trump said. The charges brought against the tycoon, according to rumors, are seven in all and would include conspiracy, obstruction of justice, but also false statements and voluntary retention of national defense information.

Federal accusations that throw the United States - notes the New York Times - into an unprecedented situation given that Trump "is not only a former president but is also the front runner to the Republican nomination in the 2024 election that could face Joe Biden, whose administration is now trying to indict him".

The investigation into Trump's secret papers began in 2021, when the National Archives noted that the former president had not handed over all the papers when leaving the White House. The result was litigation that resulted in the FBI's search at Mar-a-Lago last year and, now, the indictment. The White House does not comment on the accusations, thus maintaining the line of silence espoused by Joe Biden. For the president, the game is particularly delicate, given that we are in the middle of the electoral campaign for 2024. The Republican candidates for the nomination are silent for now, as is the party. The first hot comments among the conservatives come from the loyalists of the former president, who defend him with a sword and say they are ready to give battle.

"It is inconceivable for a president to impeach a candidate who challenges him. Joe Biden has kept classified documents for decades," said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican, who called the indictment a "grave injustice."

But for his part, Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, the Republican candidate in the 2024 US elections, said that Trump should end his campaign because his actions "from total disrespect for the Constitution to total disrespect for the law, should not define our country or the Republican Party". But the tycoon does not give up and keeps his electoral campaign program unchanged. According to rumors reported by CNN, for now Trump has in fact confirmed the two rallies he has scheduled for Saturday, despite the indictment.