MIAMI — Legal analysis: Former president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal criminal charges today during his arraignment in Miami, tied to his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home.
This is an historical moment, placing the United States in a unique situation as the country considers the possibly of a former president serving time in prison. It's something Americans have never had to consider quite so seriously before, because a former president has never before been indicted for federal crimes.
This historic moment brings up a lot of legal questions, some of which I talked through with experts on the issues that have presented themselves.
On 3News at 4, former federal prosecutor Subodh Chandra talked through what Trump experienced during his arraignment in a Miami federal court, how rare it is that we've seen his communications with his lawyers in the indictment, and what his professional experience tells him about Trump's outlook as he tries to defend this case.
Case Western Reserve University professor of constitutional law Jonathan Adler joined me on 3News at 5, to discuss how Trump's legal representation has and will be impacted by the information we've seen in the indictment, what makes Trump's case different than other instances we've seen where politicians have been found to have classified documents in their possession, and the overall historical importance of this moment in time.
As we look ahead to what comes next, we know that special counsel Jack Smith has said he plans to move this criminal case forward as quickly as possible. What that timeline might look like remains to be seen.
We'll be following along as this case unfolds, and as the state indictment in New York court tied to falsifying business records moves forward. We're also keeping an eye on the federal investigation into the former president's involvement in the January 6 insurrection, and a looming possible indictment in Fulton County in Georgia, tied to possible 2020 election interference there.