Trump indictment updates: Trump attacks special counsel after court
Trump's attorney entered a plea of not guilty.
Former President Donald Trump made his first appearance Tuesday in a federal courtroom in Miami after he was indicted in an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Trump, who has repeatedly denied any allegations of impropriety, entered a not guilty plea through his attorneys and did not speak at all during the court appearance.
Trump has been charged with 37 counts: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information; one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
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Trump leaves Doral club to head to court
Former President Donald Trump has left his Doral, Florida, golf club to motorcade to the Miami federal courthouse for his 3 p.m. appearance.
Some supporters with Trump flags lined the street outside Doral.
Crowds calm outside courthouse, Miami mayor says
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told ABC News that the crowd outside the courthouse "seems manageable" ahead of former President Donald Trump's arrival.
"Everything seems, right now, very calm. We are hopeful that it remains that way," he said.
Trump not expected to be handcuffed
As negotiations reach final stages, ABC News has learned from sources that former President Donald Trump is not expected to be handcuffed or be required to empty his pockets when he's processed at the courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump is also not expected to have a mugshot taken, according to sources.
His hands are expected to be scanned electronically, sources added.
Trump will be asked for his name and social security number when he's processed, a law enforcement official told reporters.
The booking process is not expected to take long, a law enforcement official said, adding that it's "the same process that everyone goes through."
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky and John Santucci
How serious are obstruction charges?
Of all the federal charges that former President Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta face in the investigation into the alleged mishandling of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious, according to legal experts.
Claire Finkelstein, the founder and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, noted that the obstruction charges in the indictment against Trump and his aide carry as much serious weight as the charges related to keeping the top secret documents, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Finkelstein said an obstruction charge can cover a broad range of alleged activities, from as simple as lying to investigators, to as major as destroying evidence. But she said it all comes down to one clear allegation: that the accused deliberately interfered with an ongoing criminal investigation.
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-ABC News' Ivan Pereira
Trump claims he had right to documents
Former President Trump wasted no time slamming the indictment against him over his alleged mishandling of classified documents but remained as defiant as ever during his first official remarks since he was arraigned in federal court.
"Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country. Very sad thing to watch," Trump said in a speech Tuesday evening at his Bedminster club.
"It's a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation," he added.
Trump once again falsely claimed that he was able to keep classified documents under the Presidential records act.
"I had every right to have these documents," Trump said.
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa