WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 20: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters while hosting Republican Congressional leaders and members of his cabinet in the Oval Office at the White House July 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump and his guests talked about a proposed new round of financial stimulus to help the economy during the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Doug Mills/Getty Images)
Former United States President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges levelled against him in the case involving the mishandling of secret files.
On Friday, the US department of justice unsealed a 49-page document which details the charges — known as an indictment.
Some of the counts include unlawfully retaining and sharing national defence information, nuclear secrets, and obstruction of justice.
The indictment also details the various locations where the former president allegedly stored classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, including “in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room”.
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Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet, is also implicated in the charges.
The development makes Trump, who is campaigning to return to the White House, the first US president to face federal charges.
Appearing in court on Tuesday, Todd Blanche, the former president’s attorney, told the judge “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty”.
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Trump was allowed to leave court without any restrictions to domestic or international travel but was asked not to discuss the case with Nauta who is charged with six criminal counts in the case.
In April, Trump appeared in court over charges bordering on hush money payments made to an adult actress just before the 2016 presidential election as an attempt to buy her silence.
A trial date has not been set for his second set of charges this year.
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