(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump is set to be arraigned at a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, a historic event as he is facing federal charges brought by the Department of Justice.
Trump is facing 37 counts on charges related to classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home. Already, there are divisive opinions on the case, with those on the left and right at odds over the legitimacy of the investigation.
The FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in 2022, recovering 102 classified documents from his residence. Those documents included sensitive national security information, including information about the military and nuclear capabilities of foreign countries, information about America’s nuclear weapons, U.S. military contingency plans and correspondence from foreign leaders.
While the documents were found in Trump’s office and a storage room, investigators said there were periods of time when they were kept in places like a bathroom and on a ballroom stage, as shown by photos included in the indictment. That information came from text messages acquired by investigators.
Having been formally indicted by a Florida grand jury, Trump is facing 37 counts involving the retention of documents relating to national defense, which investigators contend he did not have the authority to do.
There’s also one count for conspiring to obstruct justice and several counts for concealing documents or withholding information and providing false information.
Investigators allege those actions were taken by Trump in an attempt to mislead officials and even his own lawyers in order to retain possession of those documents.
The former president has continued to maintain his innocence, saying the investigation is politically motivated.
“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponized department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country. Many people have said that,” Trump said at an appearance in Georgia. “Democrats have even said it. This vicious persecution is a travesty of justice.”
Trump has continued to hit the campaign trail in spite of the indictment. Trump flew to Florida from New Jersey, where he will take a motorcade to his Doral golf club, where he is expected to spend the night. On Tuesday, he’ll head to the federal courthouse in Miami for the arraignment before heading back to New Jersey where he will be making an event and giving public remarks.
The charges Trump is facing are serious. The 37 counts of willfully retaining national defense information come with a maximum sentence of 10 years, each. The conspiracy to obstruct justice charge has a maximum sentence of 20 years. If found guilty adding all the charges up together, the maximum sentence could be about 400 years in prison.
None of the charges come with a mandatory minimum and, if Trump is found guilty, a judge could decide to allow the sentences be served concurrently. It’s also possible for Trump to be found guilty on some charges and not others.
As always, defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. An indictment is just the first stage of what is expected to be a long legal process.
