DONALD Trump has pleaded not guilty to historic charges of mishandling sensitive files at a federal court in Miami, Florida.
Mr Trump is the first US president – current or former – to be hit with a federal criminal indictment.
Arms crossed, in a dark suit and red tie, he sat in stone-faced silence for his second court appearance this year.
The Republican later travelled to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he addressed supporters.
Against a backdrop of American flags, Mr Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, told the assembled crowd he had “every right” to hold the classified documents, but “hadn’t had a chance to go through all the boxes”.
He said he followed the law and went on to list series of unsubstantiated claims as well as grievances against President Joe Biden and his former rival Hillary Clinton.
Earlier in the day before leaving Miami, Mr Trump, on his social media platform Truth Social, thanked the city for “such a warm welcome on such a sad day for our country”.
Just hours before, in a 13th floor room of a federal courthouse in downtown Miami, a sombre, subdued Mr Trump looked on while his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back.
“We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” the attorney, Todd Blanche, told the judge.
