Donald Trump in court, an increasingly common settingpublished at 20:43 British Summer Time 13 June 2023

20:43 BST 13 June 2023

Gary O'Donoghue
Reporting from Miami, Florida

So here we are again. Act II of the same play that began in New York just a couple of months ago.

The play is, to say the least, a little repetitive.

A motorcade to a courtroom; finger prints taken; a not-guilty plea; and a press conference late in the day to turn the event from a legal one to a political opportunity.

In the first act, Donald Trump succeeded in raising millions in contributions and riling up his base; he'll seek to do exactly the same once again.

The question is how many more acts will there be.

Perhaps one set in Georgia where he is potentially facing more criminal charges over attempts to overturn the election there - a decision on that is due in August; perhaps another dealing with the 6 January attack on the Capitol where the former president is being investigated over his role in riling up the crowd before they marched on Congress.

One thing is clear: Donald Trump will be hoping this isn't a five-act tragedy that ends up with him in jail.

Donald Trump was allowed to leave the court today with no travel conditions set for his bail.

Prosecutors told Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman they did not believe the former president was a "flight risk".

This was thought to be the case because Trump, who owns a private plane, still has Secret Service protection.

Lawyer Todd Blanche entered the plea on Donald Trump's behalf.

"We are certainly entering a plea of not guilty," Blanche told the court.

US media called the proceedings "very bare bones" and "pro forma", saying it only lasted roughly five minutes.

Image source, Reuters

As expected, Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges in his 37-count indictment.

Judge Jonathan Goodman, a magistrate judge, is presiding over Trump's Tuesday court appearance.

As the magistrate, he will handle the procedural aspects of today's proceedings, like reading Trump the 37 charges against him and hearing Trump's plea.

However, Goodman is not expected to continue with the case after today.

Proceedings will resume with Judge Aileen M Cannon, who has been chosen to oversee the trial.

The Miami Herald, a local newspaper, once described Goodman, external as "a well-regarded veteran magistrate".

Donald Trump has just entered the courtroom for his arraignment.

Florida Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman will read the 37 criminal charges against him, as well as the six charges his personal aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta is facing.

Trump has said he will plead not guilty to the charges.

Special Counsel Jack Smith - who announced the historic federal indictment last week - is attending the hearing and is sitting in the front row.

Alexandra Ostasiewicz
Reporting from court in Miami, Florida

Crowds of Trump supporters have gathered outside the Miami courthouse now that Trump is inside for his hearing.

Flags are waving and chants of “we want Donald Trump” are breaking out from the crowd.

Hundreds have come to the building braving the hot afternoon sun to stand as close to the entrance as police barricades allow, hoping to catch a glimpse of the former president.

Some are scattered under nearby trees for a reprieve from the heat.

Image source, Alexandra Ostasiewicz

Image source, Alexandra Ostasiewicz

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

At the White House's daily press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was extremely tight-lipped about the Trump indictment and today's events in Florida.

Jean-Pierre was asked repeatedly about Biden's views on the indictment, but largely declined to answer. She refused to even acknowledge that the president had been briefed on the matter.

"We're just going to be very mindful here with respect to the Department of Justice and just let them do their job," she said.

She did, however, shoot back at suggestions from Biden's political opponents that he somehow played a role in the indictment.

"He was not involved," she said.

"The president has been very, very clear: the Department of Justice is independent."

Chelsea Bailey
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Pool

Alina Habba, an attorney and spokeswoman for Donald Trump, defended the former president outside the courthouse.

"The decision to pursue charges against President Trump, while turning a blind eye to others, is emblematic of the corruption that we have here," she said, repeating the president's claims that the charges are politically motivated.

"We are at a turning point in our nation’s history (with) the targeting prosecution of a leading political opponent."

While Habba is an attorney for Trump, she is not representing him in this case.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump's personal aide Walt Nauta has now been booked in court as well.

Nauta, 40, was indicted alongside his boss. He is alleged to have moved and hidden boxes containing classified information, both before and after a search of Mar-a-Lago, as well as making false or misleading statements to the FBI.

He faces six felony charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document, and concealing a document in a federal investigation, each of which carry prison sentences of 20 years, according to the indictment.

Two other charges - scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations - carry sentences of five years in prison.

That amounts to as many as 90 years in prison for the US Navy veteran who has become a constant presence in Trump's post-presidential orbit.

Trump has been processed in court ahead of his arraignment.

Former President Donald Trump has just arrived at the Miami courthouse where he will be arraigned.

Here's what we can expect on this historic afternoon:

• Trump will be arraigned on 37 counts and just like anyone else charged with a federal crime, the former president will be booked, fingerprinted, and a DNA swab will likely be taken.
• Court preceedings are expected to begin shortly after 15:00 local time.
• Following the arriangment, Trump will travel to Miami International Airport where he will return to his home in New Jersey.
• Later tonight, he will hold a rally in New Jersey.

:

Let's take a look at what's happening outside the courthouse, where Donald Trump has just arrived.

Supporters of the former president and anti-Trump protestors have gathered and are holding flags and signs.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump has arrived at the Wilkie D Ferguson courthouse in Miami.

His motorcade was filmed entering the court compound, before driving undergound.

Next, he will begin criminal processing.

Image source, Pool

A motorcade consisting of at least six black SUVs, two police vehicles and a police officer on a motorbike are currently en route to the Miami courthouse.

Shortly before departure, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to write: "ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE!!!"

You can watch the motorcade by pressing the Play button at the top of the page.

Donald Trump has left the Trump Doral Resort in Miami.

His motorcade is now making the short trip over to the Wilkie D Ferguson Jr Courthouse, where he will hear the 37 federal charges against him this afternoon.

Image source, Pool

Sam Cabral
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Mike Pompeo, who served as Donald Trump's secretary of state from 2018 to 2021, said the way his former boss handled classified information after leaving office was "wrong".

In an interview with Fox News, the Republican said: "If the allegations are true, and there’s lots of indications that they are, President Trump had classified documents where he shouldn’t have had them, and then when given the opportunity to return them, he chose not to do that for whatever reason."

Pompeo noted that he has extensive experience with confidential records, having also previously served in Congress and as Trump's first CIA director.

While such records may be mistakenly held in some cases, he said, not turning them in when asked to is "inconsistent with protecting America's soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines".

"Some of these were pretty serious, important documents, so that's wrong," he added.

Pompeo is not the first member of the administration to criticise Trump. Former Attorney General Bill Barr has said that, if even half of the "very damning" allegations are true, "he is toast".

Ex-national security advisor John Bolton went a step further, calling for Trump to withdraw his presidential bid and warning he may wind up in jail "for a long time".

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

So far, it looks like it's going to be a fairly normal day here at the White House.

There's a few things on Joe Biden's schedule today: a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a reception for heads of diplomatic missions, and an evening Juneteenth concert where the likes of Jennifer Hudson and Wu Tang's Method Man will be performing.

Behind closed doors, however, lots of White House eyes are likely to be on the courthouse in Florida.

As things stand, the 2024 election is still most likely to be between Biden and Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

Biden is no stranger to controversy about documents. Earlier this year, it was revealed that he had classified documents at his Delaware home and in an office in Washington DC.

While his detractors have been pointing to this as evidence of a two-tier justice system, the White House and his allies have noted that Biden's attorneys immediately notified authorities and co-operated fully with the investigation - precisely what prosecutors say did not happen in Trump's case.

Thank you for your questionspublished at 17:59 British Summer Time 13 June 2023

17:59 BST 13 June 2023

And with that final query from Todd, we are bringing our Your Questions Answered segment to a close.

Thank you for submitting such a fascinating set of prompts for our US delegation.

If you missed out, do have a scroll back through the responses.

Anthony Zurcher and Sarah Smith will be on the Americast podcast later tonight to take us through Trump's day in court and answer any more questions you may have as the day rumbles on.

You can submit more questions to the podcast by emailing americast@bbc.co.uk.

Is Trump just getting free publicity?published at 17:55 British Summer Time 13 June 2023

17:55 BST 13 June 2023

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Todd from the US asks: If any form of publicity is good publicity… do you think charging Donald Trump and playing into what he says about a “witch hunt” is just giving him free publicity?

It’s certainly possible that Trump’s second indictment could help him politically by prompting Republicans to rally around their embattled leader.

Public polling certainly suggests that this happened after Trump’s first indictment, as he expanded his lead over his Republican presidential rivals in the weeks that followed.

But even Trump said this weekend that despite a poll bump, he’d rather not have been indicted.

And who can blame him? The federal charges he’s facing are serious, with significant fines and the possibility of years in jail.

There’s no amount of free publicity that’s worth that risk.

Trump and his legal team will have an opportunity to present their side and to poke holes in the prosecution’s case, but it will be no easy task.