Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, says he is ‘scared s***less’ of criminal charges
Donald Trump is reportedly terrified about the possibility of being convicted despite pleading not guilty to 37 federal charges over mishandling of classified documents.
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Donald Trump is reportedly “scared s***less” after pleading “not guilty” to 37 federal criminal charges over mishandling of classified documents that, if convicted, could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Speaking to The Washington Post, General Kelly, who served as Mr Trump’s chief of staff from 2017-2019, said: “He’s scared s***less.”
“This is the way he compensates for that. He gives people the appearance he doesn’t care by doing this,” Gen Kelly said, referencing Mr Trump’s decision to mingle with supporters in front of the cameras at a restaurant following his court appearance.
“For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable. Until this point in his life, it’s like, ‘I’m not going to pay you, take me to court.’ He’s never been held accountable before.”
Earlier, Mr Trump claimed his second arrest in three months is part of a vast conspiracy led by Joe Biden to prevent his return to the White House and “destroy American democracy”.
In a vitriolic and angry speech, hours after he became the first US president to be charged with federal crimes, Mr Trump outlined his defence in the bombshell case that will shape next year’s election and could put him behind bars for life.
He surrendered to federal authorities at a Miami courthouse on Wednesday morning, four days after the release of a 37-count indictment charging him with illegally keeping classified national security documents and obstructing efforts to retrieve them.
A day before his 77th birthday, Mr Trump sat wordlessly with his arms crossed during the 50-minute hearing, leaving it to his lawyer Todd Blanche to declare: “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty.”
Boisterous crowds gathered outside the court to support the Republican, who is the clear frontrunner to be the party’s nominee against Mr Biden in the 2024 presidential race despite the unprecedented legal turmoil that has engulfed his campaign.
Mr Trump was charged in April over hush money paid to a porn star who claimed to have slept with him, while he is also the target of state and federal investigations into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and provoke the US Capitol riot.
He was released on Wednesday without bail or travel restrictions, although he was ordered not to speak with his alleged co-conspirator and personal valet Walt Nauta about the case.
Minutes after leaving the court, Mr Trump visited a nearby Cuban restaurant – accompanied by Mr Nauta – where his supporters cheered and prayed for him.
He later spoke at a fundraiser at his Bedminister golf club in New Jersey, where he maintained he had been legally “possessing my own presidential papers”.
The indictment detailed how Mr Trump allegedly ignored requests to return classified files – such as intelligence materials that were only to be shared with Five Eyes allies including Australia, plans for attacking Iran, and his communications with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un – which prompted the FBI to raid his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida last year.
The case, pulled together by special counsel Jack Smith, accused the former president of hiding the documents from authorities, making false statements, and even showing the files to people while admitting they were not declassified.
But Mr Trump said on Wednesday: “Whatever documents a president decides to take with him, he has the right to do so.”
He claimed photos included in the indictment of the classified files at Mar-a-Lago had been staged by the FBI, and blasted Mr Smith – who he called a “thug” and a “deranged lunatic” – for having “lawlessly pierced my attorney-client privilege”.
The special counsel was able to use recordings and notes from one of the former president’s lawyers after a judge ruled the legal advice was likely to have been used to commit a crime.
Mr Trump tried to blame Mr Biden for the case against him, saying it was “the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country”.
“A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges,” he said.
He complained Mr Biden and his 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton had not been charged over their mishandling of government documents, arguing he was “the one that followed the law”.
“The United States, if it keeps going this way, is going to be Venezuela on steroids,” Mr Trump said.
“When you arrest your leading political opponent, you no longer have a democracy.”
“We have a nation in serious decline … If the communists get away with this, it won’t stop with me.”
Mr Biden declined to comment on his predecessor’s arrest, while his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the President would “respect the Department of Justice, let them do their job”.
Asked if Mr Biden would consider pardoning Mr Trump, she said: “I’m just not going to speak to that.”
First Lady Jill Biden earlier told Democratic donors it was “a little shocking” that Republican voters were standing by Mr Trump after the federal indictment.
Mr Trump promised that if he won next year’s presidential election, he would appoint a “real special prosecutor” to go after Mr Biden and the “Biden crime family”.
“When I’m re-elected, and I will get re-elected … I will totally obliterate the deep state,” he said.
“I am the only one that can save this nation … On November 5, 2024, justice will be done. We will take back our country and we will make America great again.”
TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY
The former president was placed under arrest at a Miami court and pleaded not guilty to the first federal criminal charges laid against a US president.
Hearrived at the federal courthouse through an underground garage just before 4am AEST, and swiftly surrendered to authorities prior to his court appearance.
Last week, special counsel Jack Smith unveiled an extraordinary 37-count indictment against Mr Trump, accusing him of illegally keeping classified national security documents and then evading and obstructing efforts for the files to be returned.
While phones and cameras were not allowed in the courtroom on Wednesday, the former president’s lawyers confirmed he entered a plea of not guilty just after 5am AEST.
Mr Trump was released after the brief hearing without any travel restrictions, with a federal judge deciding he did not pose a flight risk and a bond was not needed.
As his motorcade left the courthouse, a man dressed in a prison jumpsuit leapt out in front of the black SUVs and was quickly intercepted by police.
The former president waved to a large crowd of his supporters which lined the streets as he drove away.
BIZARRE MOVE AFTER COURT APPEARANCE
Minutes after leaving the courthouse, Mr Trump stopped off at a bakery in Miami’s Little Havana neighbourhood to meet with a crowd of supporters who chanted “USA, USA, USA”.
He posed for selfies and shook hands with his Republican fans at the iconic Versailles Cuban Bakery, the centre of Miami’s deeply red Cuban exile community.
“Food for everyone,” Mr Trump told them.
The crowd, which according to TMZ included recently retired UFC star Jorge Masvidal, also sang happy birthday to the former president, who turns 77 on Thursday.
In his first comments since his arrest, Mr Trump said on social media: “Thank you Miami. Such a warm welcome on such a SAD DAY for our Country!”
In a fundraising email sent to supporters as he flew back to his New Jersey golf club, Mr Trump maintained he was an “innocent man”.
He said he remained in “great spirits” during what he described as “the darkest hours of American history”.
“My team showed me all of the support, the love, the prayers, and the donations YOU gave our movement while I was getting arraigned,” the former president said.
“You are why I could NEVER give up our mission to save America – no matter how nasty and vicious the attacks ever got.”
“I always knew this was the price I had to pay to run for president as a political outsider and restore power to YOU, the American people.”
‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’: ACCUSATIONS FLY
Ahead of his historic arraignment, Mr Trump had sensationally accused prosecutors of planting evidence – without providing any proof – in a string of angry social media posts.
In the hours before his appearance at Miami’s federal court, where a crowd of his supporters was gathered amid fears of violent protests, Mr Trump lashed out at what he called a “WITCH HUNT” and “ELECTION INTERFERENCE” as he campaigns to return to power.
He called Mr Smith a “thug” that President Joe Biden “and his CORRUPT Injustice Department stuck on me”.
“He’s a Radical Right Lunatic and Trump Hater, as are his friends and family, who probably ‘planted’ information in the ‘boxes’ given to them,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social site.
Moments before his motorcade left for the courthouse, he added: “ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE!!!”
The former president came face-to-face with Mr Smith for the first time inside the court.
Alina Habba, one of Mr Trump’s lawyers, told reporters that his mugshot would not be taken inside the court complex.
“He’s not a flight risk. He is the leading candidate of the GOP at the moment,” she said, referencing his bid for the Republican nomination for the 2024 election.
“He is going through a process that has been co-ordinated with the Secret Service, and it will all be handled seamlessly.”
She said the case was a “turning point in our nation’s history”.
“The targeting, prosecution of a leading political opponent is the type of thing you see in dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela,” Ms Habba said outside court.
SECURITY ON HIGH ALERT
Authorities have been on high alert for protests involving thousands of people, potentially including members of the far right Proud Boys gang which spearheaded the attack on the US Capitol in the wake of Mr Trump’s 2020 election defeat.
After his scheduled court appearance – marking the first time a president has been hit with federal criminal charges in US history – Mr Trump is expected to speak at 8.15pm (10.15am Wednesday AEST) at his golf club in New Jersey.
The former president flew into Miami on Tuesday, two days before his 77th birthday, as he continued to fire off a stream of fiery social media posts about the charges.
“We must all be STRONG and DEFEAT the Communists, Marxists, and Radical Left Lunatics that are systematically destroying our Country,” Mr Trump said.
He promised that if he won next year’s presidential election, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden and the “BIDEN CRIME FAMILY”.
Two polls released in the wake of the indictment showed Mr Trump remained the clear frontrunner to claim the Republican nomination, with 80 per cent of primary voters in an ABC-Ipsos survey arguing the charges were politically motivated and 61 per cent of Republicans in a CBS-YouGov poll saying the indictment did not change their view of him.
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said authorities were taking Mr Trump’s court appearance “extremely seriously” and preparing for crowds of up to 50,000 people.
“We know that there is a potential of things taking a turn for the worse, but that’s not the Miami way,” he told reporters.
Over the weekend, Mr Trump framed the case as part of America’s “final battle” at next year’s election, as he claimed the indictment was “baseless” and that special counsel Jack Smith was “deranged”.
But his former attorney general Bill Barr said: “If even half of it is true, then he’s toast … It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very damning.”
Mr Trump is also due to go on trial in March next year in New York over hush money paid to a porn star, while state and federal authorities are mulling charges over his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat and stoke the January 6 riots.
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