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TRUMP ARRIVES TO CHEERS AT BEDMINSTER

Donald Trump has arrived back at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The former president is scheduled to give his first speech since pleading not guilty to charges of keeping classified documents and blocking the government’s efforts to get them back.

News helicopters thumped overhead as the sun set over the rolling greens at Bedminster.

The arrival of Trump’s motorcade was met with cheers. Many people rushed to get pictures. Several hundred supporters and club members were packed onto a patio, many wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Guests included former Justice Department official Kash Patel, former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik and MyPillow businessman and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell.

Lindell said he was at the event “to support our real president, Donald Trump,” and “there was nothing done with any malicious intent at all.” He added that he considers the indictment “a blessing” because he thinks it will drive Trump’s poll numbers up.

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What to know:

— What to expect when Trump appears in federal court to face charges

— Journalists so far outnumber protesters outside courthouse where Trump will appear

— A timeline of events leading to Trump’s indictment in the classified documents case

— Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action after months of preparation

— Who is Walt Nauta, the latest Trump loyalist to face potential jail time?

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WHITE HOUSE TRYING ITS BEST TO STAY MUM ON CASE AGAINST TRUMP

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is refusing to give straight answers to questions about the federal case against Trump.

Jean-Pierre was asked Tuesday if President Joe Biden agrees with his wife, first lady Jill Biden, who has already said that it was a “little shocking” that Trump maintained large support from the Republican Party.

“I’m just not going to comment on anything that’s related to the indictment,” Jean-Pierre responded.

The president’s chief spokesman also dodged a question about whether Biden would ever consider pardoning Trump. “No comment,” Jean-Pierre said, although she laughed slightly.

It is all part of the White House’s policy to not comment on ongoing criminal matters. In the meantime, they’ve only invoked Biden’s predecessor at strategic points.

Jean-Pierre did stress Tuesday that Biden was categorically not involved in any decision by the Justice Department to indict Trump and that he is focusing on restoring integrity to the department.

“That is why we have been very, very consistent,” Jean-Pierre said. “When it comes to criminal cases, we just do not comment.”

At a reception honoring U.S. State Department chiefs of mission, Biden declined to comment on Trump’s arrest when asked by reporters.

During his formal remarks at that event, Biden referred to simultaneous interpretation during his lengthy meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and then quipped: “I turned all my notes in.”

Trump was known to have confiscated an interpreter’s notes after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After prompting hearty laughter from the crowd, Biden insisted he was not talking about Trump.

“That’s not a reference to the president, the former president,” Biden said. “Look, no. It really isn’t.”

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SUPPORTERS GATHER AT NEW JERSEY GOLF CLUB

Trump’s supporters have begun to arrive at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, where he’s planning to deliver remarks responding to the charges after returning from his arraignment Tuesday night.

Dozens of white wedding chairs have been set up on the club’s stone patio before a stage decorated with American flags and red, white and blue bunting.

Guests as Trump’s Bedminster event include former Department of Justice official Kash Patel, Bernie Kerik and MyPillow conspiracist Mike Lindell.

Lindell says he’s here “to support our real president, Donald Trump.” He called on Ron DeSantis to drop out of the presidential race and endorse Trump tomorrow.

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TRUMP GOES FROM COURT TO CUBAN EATERY

Trump’s first stop after court was the iconic Versailles restaurant and bakery in the Little Havana neighborhood.

Inside, a group of people greeted him and laid hands on him in prayer. Those in the room also sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who will turn 77 Wednesday.

“Some birthday. Some birthday,” he said. “We’ve got a government that is out of control.”

Versailles is a landmark that is a required stop for politicians visiting Miami. Cuban exiles gathered there to celebrate Fidel Castro’s death in 2016.

Trump’s aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, joined him at the eatery, helping people take selfies with Trump.

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SPECIAL COUNSEL SEES TRUMP IN COURT

The special counsel who brought charges against Trump attended the former president’s first court appearance in person.

Jack Smith sat in the first row behind the prosecution’s table at Tuesday’s hearing in Miami federal court, where Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he hoarded classified documents.

Smith spoke briefly Friday about the indictment but has otherwise remained out of public view.

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TRUMP RELEASED WITHOUT BOND

Trump was released without having to pay a bond after pleading not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and refused government demands to give them back.

Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began in a federal courtroom in Miami but did not speak during the proceedings.

He remained seated while lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” he told the judge.

Trump scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing but was otherwise expressionless. He also crossed his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.

Blanche objected to barring the former president from talking to witnesses including Nauta, a Navy veteran who fetched Trump’s Diet Cokes as his valet at the White House before joining him as a personal aide at Mar-a-Lago. Blanche said that they work for Trump and he needs to be able to communicate with them.

After some back and forth, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump cannot talk to them about the case except through his lawyers, but he can talk to them about their jobs.

“There will be no communication about the case with fact witnesses who are on a list provided by the government,” Goodman said.

Nauta, who was indicted alongside the former president, did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

The former president will not have to surrender his passport or restrict his personal travel. Trump is expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES

Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging that he hoarded classified documents detailing sensitive military secrets and schemed to thwart government efforts to get them back.

Trump appeared before a judge in Miami’s federal courthouse Tuesday in a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.

Trump aide Walt Nauta, who was indicted alongside the former president, did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

Authorities say Trump schemed and lied to block the government from recovering the documents concerning nuclear programs and other sensitive military secrets stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases and slammed the prosecutions as politically motivated. He’s expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP’S INITIAL APPEARANCE UNDERWAY

Trump’s initial court appearance is underway on charges that he mishandled classified documents.

Trump appeared Tuesday in Miami federal court with aide Walt Nauta, who is charged as a co-conspirator.

Authorities say Trump schemed and lied to block the government from recovering the documents concerning nuclear programs and other sensitive military secrets stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases and slammed the prosecutions as politically motivated. He’s expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP RODE TO COURT WITH HIS SON ERIC

Trump rode to court with his son Eric, who accompanied the motorcade from the former president’s Doral resort to the federal courthouse in Miami.

CNN aired footage of Trump walking to a line of SUVs with his son by his side while someone yelled, “Let’s go Trump!”

The former president could be seen stopping and waving at supporters, as well as chatting with staff members. Eric Trump appeared to clap his father on the back just before he climbed in a vehicle.

As he rode to court, Trump posted on his social media site that the case against him was a “witch hunt.”

Later, outside the courthouse Trump lawyer Alina Habba said, “Today is not about President Donald J. Trump, who is defiant.”

“It is not about the Republican Party, it is not about the 2024 election,” Habba added. “It is about the destruction of longstanding principles that have set this country apart.”

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TRUMP, AIDE BOOKED AT COURTHOUSE

Trump and an aide charged as a co-conspirator have gone through the formal booking process at the Miami federal courthouse.

That’s according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which said Trump and Walt Nauta had been booked shortly after they arrived Tuesday afternoon.

Both men are expected to appear at the defense table shortly on charges that they wrongly held onto classified documents.

The two men were seen arriving at court together.

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TRUMP ARRIVES AT MIAMI COURTHOUSE FOR HISTORIC APPEARANCE

Trump has arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami to formally surrender to authorities ahead of his court appearance on charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump’s motorcade arrived Tuesday afternoon at the courthouse shortly before he’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge, a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.

It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying he’s being unfairly targeted by political opponents who want to hurt his campaign. After his court appearance, Trump will return to New Jersey, where he’s expected to hold a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP HEADS TO MIAMI COURTHOUSE FOR APPEARANCE

Trump is on his way to the federal courthouse in Miami to face dozens of charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents.

Trump departed his Doral golf course Tuesday afternoon en route to the courthouse, where he is expected to surrender to federal authorities and face a judge.

The former president is not expected to have his mugshot taken but will have his digital fingerprints taken.

Trump was indicted last week on 37 felony charges accusing him of willfully retaining classified documents and obstructing justice.

It was an unprecedented day in American history.

“Not guilty,” former President Donald Trump said around 3 p.m. in answering to 37 counts leveled against him by the government he once led, before placing his immediate future into the hands of Judge Aileen Cannon in a Miami federal court. The 42-year-old has been a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida since 2020 when she was appointed by the former president.

“This is a day that will go down in infamy … and threatening me with 400 days in prison” is a “heinous abuse,” Trump said at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ, just before 9 p.m.

“I had every right to have these documents,” he added, citing former President Bill Clinton’s legal fight to keep his personal materials. “They ought to drop this case immediately because they are destroying this country.”

Trump, now twice impeached and twice indicted, was already sitting in the court when reporters were allowed in to witness his afternoon arraignment over alleged mishandling of classified information and obstruction of justice in the months after he left the White House.

After repeated demands for the classified documents, an August search of Trump’s property by the FBI turned up dozens of files stored haphazardly enough that an investigation and subsequent decision by a grand jury led the 45th president to accusations he violated the Espionage Act, a place no U.S. chief executive has ever been.

Cannon, randomly selected to oversee the case brought against Trump, suddenly wields unprecedented power to impact the pace of the 2024 election, as she will now set both the tempo and tone of the case. The former federal prosecutor was chastised for her ruling in earlier Trump-related proceedings after she appointed a special master to review the documents seized by the government only to have her order vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Trump, who was in court for less than 2 hours, was not forced to post bail nor subjected to conditions for his release, other than that he not discuss the particulars of the case with witnesses except in the presence of counsel. Trump was not made to stand for a mug shot nor were his fingers inked for prints.

Technically now under arrest by federal authorities, along with his personal valet Walt Nauta who is also facing related charges stemming from his role in the documents case, Trump will remain free on his own recognizance to campaign and carry on with business.

It is unclear when Trump will next need to appear in court, as Cannon did not immediately set a date for the next phase of the trial. Legal experts suggest she may wait for either side to begin filing motions in the case before coming up with a schedule for proceedings.

The former president was met by cheers from supporters when he arrived at the federal courthouse ahead of his 3 p.m. court appearance and waved from the back of his government SUV when he left shortly before 4 p.m.

The scene in Miami outside the courthouse was mostly peaceful. Trump had called on his supporters to protest his court appearance and hundreds answered his call, waving flags bearing the former president’s name and stylized image.

Trump stopped at a Miami cafe to meet with more supporters not far from the courthouse, before boarding his private plane and flying to Bedminster, N.J., for a scheduled evening campaign appearance.

No other U.S. president has ever been charged with a crime. At current, including felony state-level charges he is fighting in an unrelated case out of New York, Trump is facing 71 separate felony charges.

The former president is also dominating in Republican presidential polls, leading the next closest candidate by more than 30 points.

Herald wire services contributed.

MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump became the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as he pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back.

The history-making court date, centered on charges that Trump mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect, kickstarts a legal process that will unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not only for his political future but also for his own personal liberty.

Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting social media broadsides against the prosecution from inside his motorcade en route to the courthouse and insisting — as he has through years of legal woes — that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But inside the courtroom, he sat silently, scowling and arms crossed, as a lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a brief arraignment that ended without him having to surrender his passport or otherwise restrict his travel.

The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, was the latest in an unprecedented reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race.

Always in campaign mode, he swiftly pivoted from the solemn courtroom to a festive restaurant, stopping on his way out of Miami at Versailles, an iconic Cuban spot in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood where supporters serenaded Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday, with “Happy Birthday.” The back-to-back events highlight the tension for Trump in the months ahead as he balances the pageantry of campaigning with courtroom stops accompanying his status as a twice-indicted criminal defendant.

Yet the gravity of the moment was unmistakable.

Until last week, no former president had ever been charged by the Justice Department, let alone accused of mishandling top-secret information. The indictment unsealed last week charged Trump with 37 felony counts — many under the Espionage Act — that accuse him of illegally storing classified documents in his bedroom, bathroom, shower and other locations at Mar-a-Lago and trying to hide them from the Justice Department as investigators demanded them back. The charges carry a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.

Trump has relied on a familiar playbook of painting himself as a victim of political persecution. He attacked the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case as “a Trump hater,” pledging to remain in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club.

But Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last November to a special counsel, Jack Smith, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”

Smith attended Tuesday’s arraignment, sitting in the front row behind his team of prosecutors.

The court appearance unfolded against the backdrop of potential protests, with some high-profile backers using barbed rhetoric to voice support. Though city officials said they prepared for possible unrest, there were few signs of significant disruption.

Trump didn’t say a word during the court appearance, other than to occasionally turn and whisper to his attorneys who were seated on either side of him. He fiddled with a pen and clasped his hands on the table in front of him as the lawyers and the judge debated the conditions of his release.

While he was not required to surrender a passport — prosecutors said he was not considered a flight risk — the magistrate judge presiding over the arraignment directed Trump to not discuss the case with certain witnesses. That includes Walt Nauta, his valet who was indicted last week on charges that he moved boxes of documents at Trump’s direction and misled the FBI about it.

Nauta did not enter a plea Tuesday because he did not have a local lawyer with him.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche objected to the idea of imposing restrictions on the former president’s contact with possible witnesses, noting they include many people close to Trump, including staff and members of his protection detail.

“Many of the people he interacts with on a daily basis — including the men and women who protect him — are potential witnesses in this case,” Blanche said.

Trump, who has repeatedly insisted that he did nothing wrong, showed no emotion as he was led by law enforcement out of the courtroom through a side door.

Even for a man whose presidency and post-White House life have been defined by criminal investigations, the documents probe had long stood out both because of the volume of evidence that prosecutors had seemed to amass and the severity of the allegations.

A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months, but the Justice Department filed the case in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred.

Though Trump appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A federal appeals panel ultimately overturned her ruling.

It’s unclear what defenses Trump is likely to invoke as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key witness.

In the indictment the Justice Department unsealed Friday most of the charges — 31 or the 37 felony counts — against Trump relate to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.

The indictment Friday accuses Trump of illegally retaining national security documents that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021. The documents he stored, prosecutors say, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” prosecutors say. He is accused of showing off some to people who didn’t have security clearances to view them.

Beyond that, according to the indictment, he repeatedly sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing Nauta to move boxes and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

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Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Terry Spencer, Kate Brumback, Curt Anderson and Joshua Goodman in Miami, contributed to this report.

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More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

The condition of these cars was described as “unacceptable” by one MBTA manager in a June 7 email to CRRC MA representatives, obtained by the Herald.

A separate email goes into more detail, stating that paint repairs had not been completed. Cars were submitted for inspection with “parts sanded down to bare metal.” Multiple connectors were also seen hanging on the underframes.

“It’s been 4.5 years and over 90 cars since CRRC started producing MBTA vehicles out of Springfield,” said Rick Staples, MBTA technical project manager, in a letter to Michael Wilson, CRRC MA production manager.

“It is clear that the condition of these cars is unacceptable for inspection request, yet CRRC requested the inspection. Why does this type of process failure continue to happen?”

Jacob Finch, a mechanical engineer who is working as an integrated member of the MBTA project team for this contract, per his LinkedIn page, wrote in a separate June 7 email that the two-car train set, married pair 47, had “quite a few issues that we should not be finding on final inspections.”

The unfinished paint jobs should have been caught from a production checklist employees are presumably using, Finch said, and the multiple connectors that were hanging indicated that “clearly nobody looked at that, or somebody did unauthorized work.”

The condition of this so-called married pair had been used as a benchmark of sorts for the MBTA, in terms of whether CRRC production is “getting the cars to acceptable condition prior to final inspection,” Finch wrote.

“By my analysis, MP49 was the worst condition car since MP27 (10-plus married pairs ago, February 2022), and MP47 is on track to be worse than MP49,” Finch wrote. “I would say CRRC is failing this test.”

Staples, in his letter, tasked CRRC with providing an explanation as to why it thought these particular train cars were ready for inspection, information on who checked the condition of the cars prior to the inspection request, and what corrective action will be taken to “ensure this clear failure in CRRC’s quality process does not continue.”

A spokesperson for CRRC MA did not respond to a request for comment.

The two letters are the latest example of the T’s dissatisfaction with its Chinese contractor, the low bidder in what eventually became a roughly $870.5 million agreement for 152 new Orange Line cars and 252 Red Line cars. The initial contract, awarded in 2014, was for $565.18 million.

“The emails demonstrate the MBTA’s ongoing commitment to hold the contractor accountable for the quality of its work,” T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said. “The concerns raised in the emails were addressed before the cars were shipped.

“These cars are highly complex pieces of equipment, and the MBTA is paying close attention to every detail and communicating with the contractor that we will not accept cars that do not meet the highest standards in quality and performance.”

To date, 90 new Orange Line cars and 12 Red Line cars have been delivered. However, only 88 new Orange cars have been “conditionally accepted,” Pesaturo said.

Delivery of new cars was halted in July 2022 for seven months to address manufacturing-related issues identified by the MBTA, and only just resumed this past February.

New cars that have been delivered have been taken out of service several times, including for a battery explosion and braking and wiring failures.

At a virtual community meeting on summer service changes Monday night, MBTA  officials said the availability of new cars has impacted subway frequency on the Orange Line, where old cars have all been replaced.

Melissa Dullea, senior director of service planning, said service on the Orange Line has been “dominated by vehicle availability.” This differs from the other subway lines like the Red, which is most impacted by speed restrictions, she said.

Improved Orange Line frequency this summer will depend on the delivery of new train cars, Dullea said. The tentative plan is to increase the number of daily trains from 10 to 11 this summer, and possibly to 12 in the fall, she said.

“We’re still waiting to hear that, so that’s not confirmed,” Dullea said.

A published summer schedule for the Orange Line, however, shows decreased weekday frequency, with trains arriving every 10-12 minutes starting July 2. Today, peak trains are scheduled to arrive every 7-10 minutes and off-peak trains are supposed to come every 8-12 minutes.

Donald Trump made a first appearance in federal court in Miami on Tuesday facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to be in possession of classified documents:

WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT?

Trump’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him, and the former president was released on his own recognizance without no bail. He will not have to surrender his passport or have his personal travel restricted.

He scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing, but was otherwise expressionless. He folded his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.

Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began but did not speak during the proceedings. He remained seated while his lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” the lawyer told the judge.

Blanche objected to barring the former president from talking to witnesses, including his co-defendant, valet Walt Nauta, saying that they work for him and he needs to be able to communicate with them. After some back and forth, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump cannot talk to them about the case except through his lawyers, but he can talk to them about their jobs.

Nauta was granted bond with the same conditions as Trump. He did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

Unlike Trump’s arraignment in New York, no photographs were taken because cameras aren’t allowed in federal court. There were, however, sketch artists, and theirs will be the only images from the actual courtroom appearance.

Security remained tight outside the building, but there were no signs of significant disruptions despite the presence of hundreds of protesters. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Fox News that there were no arrests or “major incidents.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

After the hearing, Trump was flying back to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. He planned to hold a fundraiser and give a speech later Tuesday night.

Before heading to the airport, Trump’s motorcade took a detour to Versailles Restaurant in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, where a small crowd of supporters awaited him. Posing for photos and saying “food for everyone,” Trump commented briefly on his case.

“I think it’s going great,” he said. “We have a rigged country. We have a country that’s corrupt.”

Several religious leaders at the restaurant prayed over him for a moment.

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

Trump faces 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, including 31 counts under an Espionage Act statute pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information. The charges also include counts of obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes.

Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some that detail the military capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege Trump showed off the documents to people who did not have security clearances to review them and later tried to conceal documents from his own lawyers as they sought to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.

The top charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

HOW DID THIS CASE COME ABOUT?

Officials with the National Archives and Records Administration reached out to representatives for Trump in spring 2021 when they realized that important material from his time in office was missing.

According to the Presidential Records Act, White House documents are considered property of the U.S. government and must be preserved.

A Trump representative told the National Archives in December 2021 that presidential records had been found at Mar-a-Lago. In January 2022, the National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Florida home, later telling Justice Department officials that they contained “a lot” of classified material.

That May, the FBI and Justice Department issued a subpoena for remaining classified documents in Trump’s possession. Investigators who went to visit the property weeks later to collect the records were given roughly three dozen documents and a sworn statement from Trump’s lawyers attesting that the requested information had been returned.

But that assertion turned out to be false. With a search warrant, federal officials returned to Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and seized more than 33 boxes and containers totaling 11,000 documents from a storage room and an office, including 100 classified documents.

In all, roughly 300 documents with classification markings — including some at the top secret level — have been recovered from Trump since he left office in January 2021.

DIDN’T PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE HAVE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, TOO?

Yes, but the circumstances of their cases are vastly different from those involving Trump.

After classified documents were found at Biden’s think tank and Pence’s Indiana home, their lawyers notified authorities and quickly arranged for them to be handed over. They also authorized other searches by federal authorities to search for additional documents.

There is no indication either was aware of the existence of the records before they were found, and no evidence has so far emerged that Biden or Pence sought to conceal the discoveries. That’s important because the Justice Department historically looks for willfulness in deciding whether to bring criminal charges.

A special counsel was appointed earlier this year to probe how classified materials ended up at Biden’s Delaware home and former office. But even if the Justice Department were to find Biden’s case prosecutable on the evidence, its Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a president is immune from prosecution during his time in office.

As for Pence, the Justice Department informed his legal team earlier this month that it would not be pursuing criminal charges against him over his handling of the documents.

WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON?

In claiming that Trump is the target of a politically motivated prosecution, some fellow Republicans have cited the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information.

Clinton relied on a private email system for the sake of convenience during her time as the Obama administration’s top diplomat. That decision came back to haunt her when, in 2015, the intelligence agencies’ internal watchdog alerted the FBI to the presence of potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information.

FBI investigators would ultimately conclude that Clinton sent and received emails containing classified information on that unclassified system, including information classified at the top secret level. Of the roughly 30,000 emails turned over by Clinton’s representatives, the FBI has said, 110 emails in 52 email chains were found to have classified information, including some top secret.

After a roughly yearlong inquiry, the FBI closed the investigation in July 2016, finding that Clinton did not intend to break the law. The bureau reopened the inquiry months later, 11 days before the presidential election, after discovering a new batch of emails. After reviewing those communications, the FBI again opted against recommending charges.

At the time, then-FBI Director James Comey condemned Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” but noted that there was no evidence that Clinton had violated factors including efforts to obstruct justice, willful mishandling of classified documents and indications of disloyalty to the U.S.

DOES A FEDERAL INDICTMENT PREVENT TRUMP FROM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

No. Neither the charges nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

Donald Trump made an first appearance in federal court in Miami on Tuesday facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to be in possession of classified documents:

What happened in court?

Trump’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him, and the former president was released on his own recognizance without having to pay bond. He will not have to surrender his passport or have his personal travel restricted.

He scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing, but was otherwise expressionless. He also crossed his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.

Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began but did not speak during the proceedings. He remained seated while his lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” he told the judge.

Blanche objected to barring the former president from talking to witnesses, including his co-defendant, valet Walt Nauta, saying that they work for him and he needs to be able to communicate with them. After some back and forth, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump cannot talk to them about the case except through his lawyers, but he can talk to them about their jobs.

Nauta was granted bond with the same conditions as Trump. He did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

Unlike Trump’s arraignment in New York, no photographs were taken because cameras aren’t allowed in federal court. There were, however, sketch artists, and theirs will be the only images from the actual courtroom appearance.

Security remained tight outside the building, but there were no signs of significant disruptions despite the presence of hundreds of protesters. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Fox News that there were no arrests or “major incidents.”

What happens next?

After the hearing, Trump is flying back to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. He plans to hold a fundraiser and give a speech later Tuesday night.

Before heading to the airport, Trump’s motorcade took a detour to Versailles Restaurant in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, where a small crowd of supporters awaited him. Posing for photos and saying “food for everyone,” Trump commented briefly on his case.

“I think it’s going great,” he said. “We have a rigged country. We have a country that’s corrupt.”

Several religious leaders at the restaurant prayed over him for a moment.

What are the charges?

Trump faces 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, including 31 counts under an Espionage Act statute pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information. The charges also include counts of obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes.

Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some that detail the military capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege Trump showed off the documents to people who did not have security clearances to review them and later tried to conceal documents from his own lawyers as they sought to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.

The top charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

How did this case come about?

Officials with the National Archives and Records Administration reached out to representatives for Trump in spring 2021 when they realized that important material from his time in office was missing.

According to the Presidential Records Act, White House documents are considered property of the U.S. government and must be preserved.

A Trump representative told the National Archives in December 2021 that presidential records had been found at Mar-a-Lago. In January 2022, the National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Florida home, later telling Justice Department officials that they contained “a lot” of classified material.

That May, the FBI and Justice Department issued a subpoena for remaining classified documents in Trump’s possession. Investigators who went to visit the property weeks later to collect the records were given roughly three dozen documents and a sworn statement from Trump’s lawyers attesting that the requested information had been returned.

But that assertion turned out to be false. With a search warrant, federal officials returned to Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and seized more than 33 boxes and containers totaling 11,000 documents from a storage room and an office, including 100 classified documents.

In all, roughly 300 documents with classification markings — including some at the top secret level — have been recovered from Trump since he left office in January 2021.

Didn’t President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence have classified documents, too?

Yes, but the circumstances of their cases are vastly different from those involving Trump.

After classified documents were found at Biden’s think tank and Pence’s Indiana home, their lawyers notified authorities and quickly arranged for them to be handed over. They also authorized other searches by federal authorities to search for additional documents.

There is no indication either was aware of the existence of the records before they were found, and no evidence has so far emerged that Biden or Pence sought to conceal the discoveries. That’s important because the Justice Department historically looks for willfulness in deciding whether to bring criminal charges.

A special counsel was appointed earlier this year to probe how classified materials ended up at Biden’s Delaware home and former office. But even if the Justice Department were to find Biden’s case prosecutable on the evidence, its Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a president is immune from prosecution during his time in office.

As for Pence, the Justice Department informed his legal team earlier this month that it would not be pursuing criminal charges against him over his handling of the documents.

What about Hillary Clinton?

In claiming that Trump is the target of a politically motivated prosecution, some fellow Republicans have cited the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information.

Clinton relied on a private email system for the sake of convenience during her time as the Obama administration’s top diplomat. That decision came back to haunt her when, in 2015, the intelligence agencies’ internal watchdog alerted the FBI to the presence of potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information.

FBI investigators would ultimately conclude that Clinton sent and received emails containing classified information on that unclassified system, including information classified at the top secret level. Of the roughly 30,000 emails turned over by Clinton’s representatives, the FBI has said, 110 emails in 52 email chains were found to have classified information, including some top secret.

After a roughly yearlong inquiry, the FBI closed the investigation in July 2016, finding that Clinton did not intend to break the law. The bureau reopened the inquiry months later, 11 days before the presidential election, after discovering a new batch of emails. After reviewing those communications, the FBI again opted against recommending charges.

At the time, then-FBI Director James Comey condemned Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” but noted that there was no evidence that Clinton had violated factors including efforts to obstruct justice, willful mishandling of classified documents and indications of disloyalty to the U.S.

Does a federal indictment prevent Trump from running for president?

No. Neither the charges nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Carlson was ousted from Fox in late April, less than a week after Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to settle an explosive defamation case. The network provided no explanation for the firing, but a wave of reports on damaging text messages and other statements Carlson made during his time at Fox have since piled up.

Since leaving Fox, Carlson kicked off a “Tucker on Twitter” series — arguing that Twitter was “the only” major remaining platform that allows free speech as he denounced news media. The series, which has published two episodes so far, has appeared to escalate contract tensions between Carlson and Fox.

Fox has demanded Carlson stop posting videos to Twitter, The New York Times also reported Monday — as the network’s lawyers accuse Carlson of violating his contract, which runs until early 2025 and restricts his ability to appear on other media outlets. Meanwhile, Carlson’s lawyers have said the network breached the contract first.

A spokesperson for Fox News Media and attorneys representing Carlson, Bryan Freedman and Harmeet Dhillon, did not immediately return requests for comments on Tuesday.

“Doubling down on the most catastrophic programming decision in the history of the cable news industry, Fox is now demanding that Tucker Carlson be silent until after the 2024 election,”

Dhillon said in a statement sent to Axios and the Times. “Tucker will not be silenced by anyone.”

Before his April firing, Carlson was Fox’s top-rated host. His stew of grievances and political theories grew to define the network over recent years and made him an influential, and widely controversial, force in GOP politics.

Carlson has previously come under fire for defending a white-supremacist theory that claims white people are being “replaced” by people of color, as well as spreading misinformation about issues ranging from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Healey said the new bank will compete for private sector dollars and federal funds available under the Inflation Reduction Act to finance building retrofits that help the state meet “long-term climate objectives” and new construction of decarbonized buildings.”

At an event inside the State House, Healey said the bank is the first of its kind in the nation because of its focus on affordable housing. Residents in the affordable housing market bear a disproportionate burden in energy costs and climate impacts, Healey said.

“The climate bank is the financial engine for cutting emissions and improving health equity and financial security in our communities,” Healey said. “It’s going to unlock and advance a wide range of rebuilding and renovation projects. And it’s going to do that by investing in affordable homes all across the state.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said more than 70% of emissions in the city come from buildings, many of them historic but much older homes that are in need of energy retrofits.

“This bank, therefore, will play a crucial role in decreasing the overall cost of living in Boston, decarbonizing affordable housing, sharing the social and economic benefits of the green economy with more of our communities and advancing environmental justice for our EJ communities, those who are in greatest need of services,” she said.

Healey said funding from the new bank will head to developers and other organizations “very, very soon.”

The bank will “accelerate” building decarbonization projects by lending directly to building owners and “by attracting and de-risking lending and investment by private lenders through innovative finance products,” Healey said in a statement.

“Over time, the bank will diversify investments to include other decarbonization measures that benefit communities,” the administration said in a statement.

And to boil down the point of the bank, Healey likened its purpose to Hamburger Helper.

“It really enhances everything and it leverages what we’re able to do,” she said.

Donald Trump became the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as he pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back.

The history-making court date, centered on charges that Trump mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect, kickstarts a legal process that could unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not only for his political future but also for his own personal liberty.

Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting social media broadsides against the prosecution from inside his motorcade en route to the courthouse and insisting as he has through years of legal woes that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But inside the courtroom, he sat silently, scowling and arms crossed as a lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a brief arraignment that ended without him having to surrender his passport or otherwise restrict his travel.

The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, was the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race.

He’s sought to project confidence in the face of unmistakable legal peril, attacking the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case as “a Trump hater,” pledging to remain in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club. He stopped on his way out of Miami at Versailles, an iconic Cuban restaurant in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood where supporters serenaded Trump, who turns 77 years old on Wednesday, with “Happy Birthday.”

Even so, the gravity of the moment was clear.

Until last week, no former president had ever been charged by the Justice Department, let alone accused of mishandling top-secret information. The indictment unsealed last week charged Trump with 37 felony counts — many under the Espionage Act — that accuse him of illegally storing classified documents in his bedroom, bathroom, shower and other locations at Mar-a-Lago and trying to hide them from the Justice Department as investigators demanded them back. The charges carry a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.

Trump has relied on a familiar playbook of painting himself as a victim of political persecution. But Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case to a special counsel, Jack Smith, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”

Smith attended Tuesday’s arraignment, sitting in the front row behind his team of prosecutors.

The court appearance unfolded against the backdrop of potential protests, with some high-profile backers using barbed rhetoric to voice support. Trump himself encouraged supporters to join a planned protest Tuesday at the courthouse. Though city officials said they prepared for possible unrest around the courthouse, there were little signs of significant disruption.

While Trump was not required to surrender a passport – prosecutor David Harbach said he was not considered a flight risk, a likely recognition of his status as a presidential candidate – he was directed to not have any personal contact with any witnesses in the case. That includes Walt Nauta, his valet and close aide, who was indicted last week on charges that he moved boxes of documents at Trump’s direction and misled the FBI about it. He did not enter a plea Tuesday because he did not have a local lawyer with him.

The magistrate judge who presided over the arraignment directed Trump not to discuss the case with any witnesses, including Nauta, but said they can discuss work.

Even for a man whose post-presidential life has been defined by criminal investigations, the documents probe had long stood out both because of the volume of evidence that prosecutors had seemed to amass and the severity of the allegations.

A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months, but the Justice Department filed it in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred. Though Trump appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A federal appeals panel ultimately overturned her ruling.

It’s unclear what defenses Trump is likely to invoke as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key witness.

The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.

The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” prosecutors say

Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Terry Spencer, Kate Brumback, Curt Anderson and Joshua Goodman in Miami, contributed to this report.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge said he wants to scrap the voter-passed tax cap law known as Chapter 62F because it creates a layer of unpredictability with state spending. The law required state officials to send nearly $3 billion back to taxpayers in 2022, which threw last year’s tax relief talks out the window.

“I don’t think it really serves sound public policy,” Eldridge told the Herald. “I didn’t hear from anyone about ‘this made a big difference in my life to get this tax rebate.’ So I do think that it’s important to have this discussion to repeal it and make sure that we’re not worried about it being triggered in the future.”

Eldridge filed the repeal amendment to Senate Democrats’ $586 million tax relief plan they released last week. Senate President Karen Spilka said the bill looks to boost several housing-related initiatives and centers “equity while chipping away at the headwinds that threaten our competitiveness.”

Whether to address Chapter 62F in the tax relief bill could take time to negotiate when lawmakers from the House and Senate eventually sit down to hammer out a final tax relief bill.

House leadership proposed rewriting the law so any excess revenue is returned as equal payments to residents regardless of how much they paid to the state. That change drew legal scrutiny from a technology-focused business group.

House Speaker Ronald Mariano said in April the adjustment allows everyone to share in the success of the state’s economy.

“We felt after watching the way the checks were made out and sent out, I think (Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, Rep. Mark Cusack and I) sort of agreed pretty early on that there are fairer ways to do this,” he said, referring to the House chairs of the budget-writing and revenue committees.

Eldridge said the Baker administration’s erroneous use of $2.5 billion in federal funds to pay pandemic-era unemployment benefits could put the state in a precarious financial situation that could only get worse if the tax cap law is triggered again.

“I feel, at the end of the day, is it a sound tax policy, sound public policy to have a tax rebate trigger?” he said. “I think it’s quite unusual and I think it makes the commonwealth weaker.”

Among the other amendments filed to the bill ahead of the Thursday debate are Republican-led efforts to reduce the short-term capital gains tax and increase the estate tax exemption.

The House and Healey support cutting the short-term capital gains tax from 12% to 5%, which could become another sticking point during inter-branch negotiations.

The Senate opted not to include the reduction in their plan and Spilka said the chamber “pulled together a consensus bill.”

“This is what the senators wanted,” she said outside of her office on Monday. “The balance of the bill focuses on individuals and working families, low to moderate, middle income, support and help. There are some things for folks, whether it be the EITC, the rental assistance, the senior circuit breaker, child dependent care, that’s where the bulk of the relief was desired.”

Healey did not say whether she would sign a bill that does not include a cut to the short-term capital gains tax, offering only that she was “heartened” by both the House and Senate proposals.

“We’ll just see what comes out of conference committee but obviously, the team and I, the lieutenant governor and I are here and ready to work and collaborate on this and other issues,” she told reporters on Monday.

Voters approved 62F in 1986 after tax-cutting champions, including the late Barbara Anderson, pushed for breaks for taxpayers.

The 49-page federal indictment of former President Donald Trump lays out a stunning timeline of events, detailing allegations that he not only mishandled sensitive material, but also took steps to hide records and impede investigators.

Here are some of the key events leading to the 37 criminal charges against Trump, according to the indictment:

Jan. 20, 2021: As Trump leaves the White House, he directs the movement of dozens of storage boxes to Mar-a-Lago, prosecutors say. The boxes, packed by Trump and his White House staff, contain newspaper clippings, letters, photos and other mementos from his time in office, but also hundreds of classified documents that, as a former president, he wasn’t authorized to have.

Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal, not private property and must be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive documents, including statutes making it a crime to remove such material and keep it at an unauthorized location.

After Jan. 20, 2021: Some boxes brought from the White House are stored on a stage in one of Mar-a-Lago’s gilded ballrooms. A photo in the indictment shows boxes stacked on a stage.

March 15, 2021: Boxes are moved from the ballroom to the business center at Mar-a-Lago.

April 2021: Some boxes are moved into a bathroom and shower. A photo included in the indictment shows them stacked next to a toilet, a vanity and a trash can.

May 2021: Trump directs employees to clean out a storage room in a highly accessible area on Mar-a-Lago’s ground floor so it can be used to store his boxes, the indictment says. Trump also directs that some boxes be brought to his Bedminster, New Jersey, summer residence.

On or about May 6, 2021: Realizing that some documents from Trump’s presidency may be missing, the National Archives asks that he turn over any presidential records he may have kept upon leaving the White House. The agency makes subsequent, repeated demands.

June 2021: The National Archives warns Trump through his representatives that it will refer the matter to the Justice Department if he does not comply.

June 24, 2021: Boxes are moved to the storage room. More than 80 boxes are kept there.

July 21, 2021: Trump allegedly shows a military “plan of attack” that he says is “highly confidential” to a writer interviewing him at his Bedminster property. Trump remarks, “as president I could have declassified it. … Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” according to the indictment, citing a recording of the interview.

August or September 2021: Trump allegedly shows a classified map relating to a foreign military operation to a representative of his political action committee at his Bedminster golf course, the indictment says. Trump tells the person that he shouldn’t be showing anyone the map and that the person shouldn’t get too close.

November 2021: Trump directs his executive assistant and “body man” Walt Nauta and another employee to start moving boxes from a storage room to his residence for him to review. Nauta is charged in the indictment as Trump’s co-conspirator.

Dec. 7, 2021: Nauta finds that several of Trump’s boxes have fallen, spilling papers onto the storage room floor, the indictment says. Among them is a document with a “SECRET” intelligence marking. According to the indictment, Nauta texts another Trump employee, “I opened the door and found this,” to which the other employee replies, “Oh no oh no.”

Late December 2021: The National Archives continues to demand that Trump turn over missing records from his presidency. In late December 2021, a Trump representative tells the agency that 12 boxes of records have been found and are ready to be retrieved.

January 17, 2022: Trump turns over 15 boxes to the National Archives. According to the indictment, Nauta and another Trump employee load them into Nauta’s car and take them to a commercial truck for delivery to the agency.

The boxes are found to contain 197 documents with classified markings, including 69 marked confidential, 98 secret and 30 top secret. Some documents have markings suggesting they include information from highly sensitive human sources or the collection of electronic “signals” authorized by a court under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Feb. 9, 2022: The National Archives refers the matter to the Justice Department after a preliminary review finds the boxes contain numerous classified documents. The special agent in charge of the agency’s Office of the Inspector General writes, “Of most significant concern was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records” and otherwise improperly identified.

Feb. 10, 2022: Trump’s Save America PAC releases a statement insisting the return of the documents had been “routine” and “no big deal.” Trump insists the “papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis,” and adds, “It was a great honor to work with” the National Archives “to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy.”

Feb. 18, 2022: In a letter to a congressional oversight committee, the National Archives reveals the boxes contained classified information and confirms the Justice Department referral. Trump’s Save America PAC releases another statement insisting, “The National Archives did not ‘find’ anything,” but “were given, upon request, Presidential Records in an ordinary and routine process to ensure the preservation of my legacy and in accordance with the Presidential Records Act.”

March 30, 2022: The FBI opens its investigation.

April 12, 2022: The National Archives informs Trump that, at the Justice Department’s request, it intends to provide the FBI with the 15 boxes he turned over on Jan. 17, 2022. Trump’s representative asks for an extension until April 29.

April 26, 2022: The grand jury investigation begins.

April 29, 2022: The Justice Department asks Trump’s lawyers for immediate access to the 15 boxes, citing national security interests and the need for “an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported.” Trump’s lawyers again ask for an extension, saying they need to review the material to “ascertain whether any specific document is subject to privilege.”

May 10, 2022: The National Archives informs Trump’s lawyers that it will provide the FBI access to the boxes as soon as May 12.

May 11, 2022: A grand jury issues a subpoena to Trump and his office requiring that they turn over all classified materials in their possession.

May 23, 2022: Trump’s lawyers advise him to comply with the subpoena, but Trump balks, telling them, “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes.” Prosecutors, citing notes from one of the lawyers, say Trump wondered aloud about dodging the subpoena, asking his counsel, “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” and ”isn’t it better if there are no documents?”

May 26, 2022: Nauta is interviewed by the FBI and, according to prosecutors, repeatedly lies about his knowledge of the movement of boxes at Mar-a-Lago. Nauta claims he wasn’t aware of boxes being brought to Trump’s residence for his review and says he didn’t know how boxes turned over to the National Archives got to Trump’s residence.

Nauta also lies when asked whether he knew where Trump’s boxes were stored before they went to his residence and whether they’d been in a secured or locked location, prosecutors say. His reply, according to the indictment: “I wish, I wish I could tell you. I don’t know. I don’t — I honestly just don’t know.”

June 2, 2022: One of Trump’s lawyers returns to Mar-a-Lago to search boxes in the storage room and finds 38 additional classified documents — five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret. After the search, prosecutors say, Trump asks: “Did you find anything? … Is it bad? Good?” and makes a plucking motion that the lawyer takes to mean that he should take out anything “really bad” before turning over the papers.

Prior to the search, prosecutors say, Trump had Nauta move 64 boxes from the storage room to his residence. Of those, 30 were moved back to the storage room, leaving 34 boxes in Trump’s residence and out of the lawyer’s sight.

June 3, 2022: FBI agents and a Justice Department lawyer visit Mar-a-Lago to collect the 38 classified documents from Trump’s lawyer. They are in a single accordion folder, double-wrapped in tape. While there, investigators are allowed to go to the storage room, but are “explicitly prohibited” from looking inside boxes, “giving no opportunity” for them “to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained,” according to a court filing.

Trump tells investigations he’s “an open book,” according to the indictment. Another Trump lawyer, acting as his custodian of records, provides investigators a sworn certification that prosecutors say falsely claimed they had conducted a “diligent search” of boxes moved from the White House and “any and all responsive documents” were turned over.

Earlier in the day, prosecutors say, some boxes were loaded onto a plane so Trump could take them to Bedminster for the summer.

June 8, 2022: The Justice Department sends Trump’s lawyer a letter asking that the storage room be secured, and that “all of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago (along with any other items in that room) be preserved in that room in their current condition until farther notice.”

July 2022: The grand jury is shown surveillance video of boxes being moved at Mar-a-Lago.

Aug. 5, 2022: The Justice Department applies for a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago, citing “probable cause” that additional presidential records and classified documents were being stored there. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart approves the application the same day.

Aug. 8 2022: The FBI searches searches Mar-a-Lago, seizing 102 classified documents — 75 in the storage room and 27 in Trump’s office, including three found in office desks.

The Justice Department says in a subsequent court filing that the results call “into serious question” earlier representations by Trump’s legal team that they had conducted a “diligent search” and that no classified documents remained.

Aug. 12, 2022: Reinhart makes public the warrant authorizing the Mar-a-Lago search. The document reveals that federal agents are investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.

Aug. 26, 2022: A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI’s rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago is made public.

Aug. 30, 2022: After Trump’s lawyers request a special master to review the documents for possible executive privilege, the Justice Department responds with a filing that reveals new details about the investigation and a photo of seized documents with marking like “TOP SECRET//SCI” splayed out on a Mar-a-Lago carpet.

March 24, 2023: One of Trump’s lawyers, M. Evan Corcoran, testifies before the Mar-a-Lago grand jury in Washington after being forced to do so by a judge. The Justice Department, in a hugely significant moment in the investigation, succeeded in piercing the attorney-client privilege by arguing that Trump had used Corcoran’s legal services in furtherance of a crime.

June 8, 2023: A grand jury in Miami indicts Trump and Nauta. Trump announces the indictment on his Truth Social platform, calling it “a DARK DAY for the United States of America.” In a video post, he says, “I’m innocent and we will prove that very, very soundly and hopefully very quickly.”

June 9, 2023: The indictment is made public. It shows that Trump is charged with 37 felony counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing a document or record and willful retention of national defense information. Nauta is charged with six counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case, makes a brief public statement at his office in Washington, saying: “Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”

June 13, 2023: Trump is scheduled to make an initial court appearance at 3 p.m. alongside Nauta at the federal courthouse in Miami.

___

More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

The scene outside the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami was part Donald Trump campaign rally and part reality TV show featuring celebrity faces and anti-Trump protesters, blistering heat and humidity, and a crowd that included people who’d traveled long distances for a day in South Florida.

There was even — emblematic of Miami — a vendor outside the courthouse selling tubs of sliced fruit for $10.

All were gathered Tuesday because of the historic event inside, the first court appearance for the former president facing federal charges alleging he hoarded classified documents detailing sensitive military secrets and schemed to thwart government efforts to get them back.

The major legal development of the day, as expected, was Trump’s not guilty plea to each of the 37 counts in the federal indictment.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the crowd, which was smaller than the 5,000 to 50,000 that Miami officials said a day earlier they were prepared for. At least 1,000 people gathered at the courthouse, along with hundreds of reporters, photojournalists and TV personalities.

And despite the passions and the heat — and some occasional shouting between Trump friends and foes — there wasn’t any violence, even though several reporters peppered Miami’s mayor and police chief on Monday with ‘what-if’ questions about worst-case scenarios.

26 hours in Miami-Dade

Just before he finished the momentous 26-hour trip to Miami-Dade County, Trump’s motorcade took him to a post-court campaign stop at Versailles, the iconic restaurant in Little Havana.

Just before 5 p.m. Trump’s red, white and blue Boeing 757, emblazoned with his name in gold, took off from Miami International Airport headed to New Jersey, for a scheduled campaign fundraiser and speech at his golf club in Bedminster.

He describes his Mar-a-Lago resort and club in Palm Beach — where the indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House — as his home, but typically doesn’t spend the hot summer season there.

He spent the night at Trump National Doral, his Miami-Dade golf club after arriving at MIA about 3 p.m. Monday.

As a former president, Trump traveled on the ground in a motorcade, with police blocking traffic, including on busy expressways, to expedite his movements. From the SUV on his way to court, Trump told his social media followers that he was “ON MY WAY TO COURTHOUSE. WITCH HUNT!!! MAGA.”

Back in the SUV after court, he posted again on his Truth Social platform: “Thank you Miami. Such a warm welcome on such a SAD DAY for our Country!”

Both posts were unusual in their brevity and lack of attacks on political enemies.

Supporters

Rose Rodriguez, 58, said her parents came to the U.S. from Cuba, and she believes if Trump doesn’t win the 2024 election, communism will come to the U.S. “I know what communism is,” she said.

Rodriguez said she attended Tuesday’s gathering — it wasn’t her first pro-Trump event — to prove he has a support system.

“He’s a man for the people,” she said.

As Trump arrived at the courthouse, supporters cheered, chanting “Trump” and “USA! USA! USA!”

Some Trump supporters expressed their displeasure with President Joe Biden by chanting “No more Biden!” and “Let’s Go Brandon.” That’s a phrase popular among Republicans that directs an obscenity toward the president.

Luimar Zibetti Garza, 60, a longtime Floridian who says she’s homeless, set up on a sidewalk outside the federal courthouse. She had an umbrella with a sign that said, “Homeless 4 Trump.” “I came out to support Trump because I know he’s being railroaded,” Garza said.

Traveling long distance

Some of the people who showed up outside the federal courthouse traveled a long way.

Katie Taylor, 76, traveled from Virginia, stopping in Sanford, N.C., to pick up Gloria Eck.

Eck said the indictment is “just proof to me how corrupt” the Department of Justice is. “If people don’t stand up we’re going to lose our country.”

She said she wasn’t concerned about an unattended item with wires that prompted police to temporarily clear an area near the courthouse. “We can’t be worried (about it). They want to push us out.”

Taylor said she was “not a protester,” instead describing herself  as “a supporter of President Trump.”

Several dozen Trump supporters boarded Miami-bound buses at an Orlando Walmart.

Miriam J. Ramirez, president of the Puerto Rico Republican Assembly, said she and others in the Puerto Rican community are sticking with the former president. “We feel safe, like a daddy who’s taking care of us.”

As they boarded the buses in Orlando, Danette Chialtas offered a different assessment. “Get on the bus, you traitors!” she said. “Your dictator is being arraigned today for espionage. Traitors!”

Opponents

Xavier Presley, 67, of Miami, is a regular fixture at any Trump rally. Despite the heat, he wore his typical outfit Tuesday afternoon outside of the courthouse: a suit jacket that has expletives and Trump’s name written in marker on it.

Presley, who stood alone underneath a palm tree with many neon colored signs with an obscenity and Trump’s name, said he typically attends the rallies alone to avoid any trouble with Trump supporters.

Presley said he’s long been an activist. But he stops short of calling himself political. “Because you can never win,” he said. “You have no winner in politics. Because they all are crooks.”

Even Trump supporters laugh, he said. “They do laugh. A lot of Trump people today, I was surprised, a lot of Trump people took pictures with my signs.”

Disagreements generally were mild. When Trump opponents shouted “Trump’s a dick,” some of his supporters responded with shouts of “We love Trump” then sang “God Bless America.”

Versailles

After court, Trump made a brief stop at Versailles, the iconic Miami restaurant in Little Havana.

Versailles is a must-do photo op for Republican candidates campaigning in Miami and gave Trump a chance to visit with supporters in the Cuban American community, where he developed a loyal following during his presidency.

People cheered and news video showed people laying hands on him in prayer.

“Food for everyone!” Trump declared as he worked the dining room shaking hands. Supporters sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday.

Trump smiled and gave a thumbs-up sign to people taking pictures. “We have a country that is in decline like never before. We can’t let it happen,” he said.

Domenic Santana, a native New Yorker who now lives in Miami, wore an outfit with prison stripes and held a “lock him up” sign, designed for maximum media attention. He wore the same outfit and carried the same sign on Monday. “Trump is a rat who graduated from the school of rats and wound up in the White House. The New Yorkers know. He should have been locked up a long, long time ago,” Santana said.

Few incidents

Later in the day, a man jumped in front of a vehicle in Trump’s motorcade as it was leaving the courthouse, and was quickly pulled away by law enforcement officers and later taken away by several Miami Police officers.

In the morning, police moved people away from an area near the courthouse after an unattended object was spotted. The suspicious item turned out to be a flat-screen television with wires coming out. It had a statement expressing intense displeasure for what the writer called “the Communist media.”

The area was reopened after it was determined there was no threat.

.⁦@aronberg⁩ providing legal analysis for ⁦@MSNBC⁩ live coverage of Trump federal court day. https://t.co/rIX3qtQvsA pic.twitter.com/pT42cHTvH7

— Anthony Man (@browardpolitics) June 13, 2023

Few newsmakers

Few newsmakers actually appeared outside the courthouse to make news.

Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, appeared to assert the indictment was not justified, repeating many of the assertions Trump and his supporters have made since the charges came out last week.

“The people in charge of this country do not love America. They hate Donald Trump. What we are witnessing today is a blatant and unapologetic weaponization of the criminal justice system,” she said. “The decision to pursue charges against President Trump while turning a blind eye to others is emblematic of the corruption that we have here.”

Laura Loomer, the internet provocateur and two-time unsuccessful candidate for Congress, led “We want Trump!” outside the courthouse. Kari Lake, the unsuccessful 2022 Republican candidate for Arizona governor, Trump supporter and 2020 election denier, was also present.

Doing business

Miami’s entrepreneurial spirit was on display.

Aldrena Oliveras, 52, of Miami, set up a tent selling tubs of fruit: pineapple, cranberry, kiwi, apples, watermelon, pears, mango. She said the political event was different from her usual days selling on Miami Beach or in Little Havana.

Business, not politics, was on her mind. And it was booming. She said her $500 in sales was much more than usual.

A water vendor invoked the crowd’s interest as he sold from a water cooler. “It’s hot to be a Trump supporter! Get some ice cold water!”

Ronald Solomon, president of the MAGA Mall, was selling $20 hats ($25 for a cowboy hat) and $10 flags. His biggest sellers: the classic, red “Make America Great Again,” “Trump 2024” with an embroidered American flag, and “God, Guns and Trump.”

He said he sold about $4,000 of hats on Tuesday.

Sun Sentinel staff photographers Joe Cavaretta and Mike Stocker and Orlando Sentinel staff writer Skyler Swisher contributed to this report, which contains information from The Associated Press.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com, on Twitter @browardpolitics and on Post.news/@browardpolitics

If the latest charges against Trump start to fall apart, it will throw the spotlight back on Democrats and Biden, and confirm what half the country believes – that this is a politically motivated prosecution.

Trump, about to turn 77, is still in a precarious position heading into 2024, with possible indictments related to Jan. 6 and Georgia still to go. Just from a stamina point of view, it will be tough for Trump to survive the heat.

But polls conducted after the 37-count indictment on classified documents was released show the former president is still the frontrunner in the GOP race. A clear majority of Republican primary voters – 81% – say they believe the indictment for illegally keeping secret documents and lying about it is politically motivated.

That’s a clear indication that the charges won’t yet hurt Trump’s cause in the GOP primaries, and may in fact boost him. A new Reuters poll showed 43% of Republicans support Trump, while just 22% picked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But it’s still early and those numbers could change as more evidence comes back against Trump.

Trump is now in Miami in preparation for his court appearance on Tuesday, but he is already defiant in denying the indictment.

“I HOPE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS WATCHING WHAT THE RADICAL LEFT ARE DOING TO AMERICA,” he posted on his Truth Social site.

The question now is, will the spotlight eventually come back to Biden and his own problem with keeping classified documents in his garage?

And will voters blame Biden for bringing the case against Trump, despite the president’s attempts to stay away from it?

It’s pretty hard for Biden to claim he knows nothing about the indictments. Difficult to believe the Department of Justice wouldn’t at least brief the White House about the coming charges. The DOJ is part of the administration, along with the FBI.

If the latest indictment starts to fizzle, it could be bad news for the president and rocket fuel for Trump, much the same way the collapse of the Russian collusion case helped the former president.

Republican voters – and many independents – seem inclined to side with Trump right now in this latest attempt to wound him legally. And they are bound to take it out against Biden.

At the very least, the case against Trump is likely to drag on well past next year’s election, meaning voters will have to decide based on incomplete information.

The 80-year-old Biden – if he really does follow through with his reelection plans – better hope that Americans start to turn against his former rival soon, or there will be a reversal of the 2020 election — no matter how many indictments they bring.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump arrived in Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get them back.

Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardized national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence.

Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He’s ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, calling Jack Smith “deranged” as he repeated without any evidence his claims that he was the target of a political persecution. And even as his supporters accuse the Justice Department of being weaponized against him, he vowed Monday to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden and his family if Trump is elected to a second term.

Trump landed in Miami around 3 p.m. Monday and got into a waiting SUV. He was expected to huddle with advisers before his court appearance, as he looks to line up additional lawyers following the departure before his indictment last week of two attorneys who had handled the defense for months.

He’s encouraged supporters to join a planned protest at the Miami courthouse Tuesday, where he will face the charges and surrender to authorities.

“We need strength in our country now,” Trump said Sunday, speaking to longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone in an interview on WABC Radio. “And they have to go out and they have to protest peacefully. They have to go out.”

“Look, our country has to protest. We have plenty to protest. We’ve lost everything,” he went on.

He also said there were no circumstances “whatsoever” under which he would leave the 2024 race, where he’s been dominating the Republican primary.

Other Trump supporters have rallied to his defense with similar language, including Kari Lake, the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona who pointedly said over the weekend that if prosecutors “want to get to President Trump,” they’re ”going to have to go through me, and 75 million Americans just like me. And most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.”

Trump’s calls for protest echoed exhortations he made ahead of a New York court appearance in April, where he faces charges arising from hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign, though he complained that those who showed up to protest then were “so far away that nobody knew about ’em,” And just like in that case, he plans to address supporters in a Tuesday evening speech hours after his court date.

After his court appearance, he will return to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges. He’ll also be holding a private fundraiser.

Trump supporters were also planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for the potential of unrest around the courthouse. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city would be ready, and police chief Manuel A. Morales said downtown could see anywhere from a few thousand up to 50,000 protesters. He said the city would be diverting traffic and possibly blocking streets depending on crowd size.

“Make no mistake about it,” Morales said. “We are taking this event extremely serious. We know there is a potential of things taking a turn for the worse but that’s not the Miami way.”

The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.

The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” the indictment says. The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.

Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

Some fellow Republicans have sought to press the case that Trump is being treated unfairly, citing the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 to not charge Democrat Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information through a private email server she relied on as secretary of state. But those arguments overlook that FBI investigators did not find any evidence that Clinton or her aides had willfully broken laws regarding classified information or had obstructed the investigation.

New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, speaking Sunday on CBS News, said there was a “huge difference” between the two investigations but that it “has to be explained to the American people.”

The Justice Department earlier this month informed former Vice President Mike Pence that it would not bring charges over the presence of classified documents in his Indiana home. A separate Justice Department special counsel investigation into the discovery of classified records at a home and office of President Joe Biden continues, though as in the Clinton case, no evidence of obstruction or intentional law-breaking has surfaced.

Trump’s own former attorney general, William Barr, offered a grim assessment of Trump’s predicament, saying on Fox News that Trump had no right to hold onto such sensitive records.

“If even half of it is true,” Barr said of the allegations, “then he’s toast. I mean, it’s a pretty — it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning. And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here — a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous.”

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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami and Terry Spencer in Doral, Florida contributed to this report.

Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP

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More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

The SJC announced Monday that Cypher, who turned 64 in February, will retire from the court on Jan. 12, 2024 after a nearly seven-year tenure. A court spokesperson said Cypher “wants to devote her time to teaching and research.”

Cypher will take a position at Boston College Law School for the spring 2024 semester as a Huber Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law. She said in a statement that she is “looking forward to pursuing my love of teaching.”

Her departure will come several years before Cypher turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for Massachusetts judges, and creates the first vacancy on the SJC since Healey was elected in November.

Healey’s predecessor, former Gov. Charlie Baker, saw the entire court turn over during his two terms and appointed all seven current members.

“On behalf of the people of Massachusetts, I’d like to offer our deep gratitude to Justice Cypher for her decades of service to our state and wish her the very best in her well-earned retirement,” Healey said. “Our administration is committed to appointing a distinguished Supreme Court Justice who will uphold justice, equality and the rule of the law.”

A 1986 Suffolk University Law School graduate, Cypher began her legal career as an associate at the Boston law firm of Grayer, Brown and Dilday and then spent nearly two decades in the Bristol County district attorney’s office as an assistant DA and then chief of the appellate division.

She joined the judiciary in 2000, after Gov. Paul Cellucci appointed her as an appeals court justice and she won approval from the Governor’s Council. Baker picked her in 2017 for a spot on the high court, and again the elected council confirmed her to a new role.

“Justice Cypher has brought her keen knowledge of the law and the constitution to the appellate courts for over two decades, serving on the Supreme Judicial Court for the past six years,” said SJC Chief Justice Kimberly Budd. “She has been an exceptional friend and colleague and an active role model to the many people who count her as a mentor. We are deeply grateful for her service to the people of the Commonwealth.”

Healey has not nominated any judges six months into her four-year term, and several openings loom on the Superior Court.

After leaving the second “leadership meeting” held with Gov. Maura Healey and House Speaker Ron Mariano in as many weeks, Senate President Karen Spilka told reporters during a brief press conference outside her Beacon Hill office that lawmakers had settled on the date of the holiday, though any suspension will still need to be made official by actual legislation.

“We will be doing a sales tax holiday August 12th, 13th, that weekend,” Spilka said. Mariano did not voice any opposition to the dates.

When asked if she and her colleagues would consider expanding the two-day pause on the state’s 6.25% sales tax, she said that “no, we’re not there yet.”

“But we will be doing the weekend,” the Democrat from Ashland said.

First tried for just one day in 2004 but made into an annual full weekend holiday in 2018, the law aims to boost consumer spending for one weekend a year at the expense of millions in sales tax revenue.

There are some exclusions to the holiday, which only applies to purchases less than $2,500.

Purchases of cars, boats, meals, utilities, marijuana, tobacco and alcohol are still taxed. Gasoline is not subject to the sales tax and so is not affected by the holiday. Business purchases are still taxable.

Residents who want to do their shopping online may do so as well, provided their purchase is made during the sales tax holiday weekend.

A single item that costs $2,500 would see a tax savings of $156.25. An item costing even one dollar more would be subject to that tax amount, plus the 7 cents for the extra dollar.

Clothing under $175 is generally not taxed, but during the holiday more expensive duds up to $2,500 will be untaxed.

Rentals of up to 30 days that are normally subject to sales tax are tax-free if paid for during the holiday. This does not include car and boat rentals.

Massachusetts retailers must, by law, participate in the holiday if they are open for business during the scheduled weekend. Any purchase made during that weekend that is charged a sales tax must see the tax refunded by the retailer, according to the Department of Revenue.

“It’s a disgrace to our country,” Trump said on Howie Carr’s radio show Monday night of the accusations made against him by the Biden administration’s Justice Department.

Trump, the current leading contender for the Republican nomination to the White House in 2024, was indicted on charges he willfully mishandled classified information he apparently admitted he did not have the right to possess and continued to withhold from the government despite numerous attempts by the National Archives and the Department of Justice to secure the nation’s secrets.

The 45th President is due to surrender himself to federal authorities in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Trump told Carr he would plead “not guilty” to all charges.

“Getting ready to head down to Doral in Miami. We must all be STRONG and DEFEAT the Communists, Marxists, and Radical Left Lunatics that are systematically destroying our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he declared Monday morning, capitalization included.

Trump has maintained his innocence from the moment the FBI raided his Mar-A-Lago resort-turned-residence in August of last year, claiming he had declassified any records in his possession and that the files were of a personal, not presidential, nature. He has responded to the indictment with both shock and anger.

“Hard to believe that the leading candidate, by far, of the opposition party, got indicted. This is strictly Third World. MAGA,” Trump said through his Truth Social media company. He said “we’re like a third-world country” again during his evening interview with Carr.

The former president was not alone in his assertion that the Biden Administration’s Justice Department had gone too far in accusing the ex-command-in-chief of mishandling documents when so many other former government officials have come forward with their own misplaced classified information, including President Joe Biden, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Scores of Republicans in the House and Senate jumped to his defense over the weekend and after the 49-page indictment was unsealed and made public, a march that continued through Monday. Even Trump’s leading opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, questioned whether Trump was getting a fair deal, though he didn’t name his chief rival.

Many Republicans say the charges are an attempt by Democrats to remove Trump from electoral consideration.

“The radical Far Left will stop at nothing to interfere with the 2024 election in order to prop up the catastrophic presidency and desperate campaign of Joe Biden,” U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the number-four Republican in the House, wrote on Truth Social in a post shared by Trump.

In a post-indictment interview with conservative political activist Roger Stone, the former president called on his supporters to protest his court date.

“Our country has to protest,” the President told Stone, who he pardoned for allegedly lying to Congress.

Officials in Miami, apparently responding to reports that far-right group The Proud Boys would answer Trump’s call to protest his court appearance, were prepared for up to 50,000 protesters to arrive, according to reporting by the Miami Herald.

“Stay strong. Stay very, very strong,” he said to his supporters during Carr’s show.

Trump, 76, of Palm Beach, Florida, is scheduled to surrender himself to authorities in Miami at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, when he is expected to tell U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon he is not guilty of the 37 felony counts leveled against him. A full 31 of those charges pertain to his allegedly deliberate attempts to withhold classified government documents that the National Archives and Department of Justice had both demanded he relinquish after leaving office and which are detailed in a 49 page indictment unsealed ahead of the weekend.

Through his campaign on Sunday, Trump announced he would follow the court date in Florida with an appearance at his property in New Jersey.

“President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, will deliver remarks at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 8:15PM EDT,” his campaign said.

Trump declared himself an “innocent man” in social media postings when the details of his alleged misdeeds were made public. He told crowds in Georgia and North Carolina Saturday during campaign stops that it’s his run for the White House that led to the charges, not his conduct as a private citizen.

“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,” he said in Columbus, Georgia. “In the end, they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you and I’m just standing in their way.”

Trump also vowed Saturday to remain in the race, even if he is convicted in the case.

“I’ll never leave,” he told Politico in an interview aboard his plane after his speech in Georgia.

According to the unsealed indictment, the Trump stored classified documents in a bathroom and a ballroom at his Mar-A-Lago resort-turned-residence where they were accessible by people without the clearance to view them.

Charging documents further allege the former president instructed his lawyers to destroy some classified records he was ordered to return, hid others from his legal team, and kept them despite repeated demands from the government and assertions from records custodians he previously returned everything required.

Trump would often chant “Lock her up” with crowds at 2016 campaign rallies, referring to Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the race, and her alleged mishandling of classified information. After a roughly yearlong inquiry into her use of a private email server, the FBI closed out the investigation into Clinton, finding that she did not intend to break the law.

“Joe Biden is trying to jail his leading political opponent, just like in Stalinist Russia or Communist China. I never thought such a thing could happen in America. No different,” Trump said over the weekend.  “We now have two standards of justice in our country and no criminal is more protected than Crooked Joe Biden.

The question is whether he would be running for president had not Donald Trump, as expected, been indicted again, this time on far out and desperate federal charges over alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Still, you have to hand it to the former governor of New Jersey.

He is the only one of eight or so Republicans who ran against Donald Trump for president in the GOP primaries in 2016 who is now running again.

He did not last very long back then, and probably won’t now, throwing in the towel after coming in sixth in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

Yet, Christie, 60, a former two term governor, was in New Hampshire Tuesday where he announced his candidacy for president again.

It is a given that Trump gets into people’s heads and drives them loco. This not only includes progressives who hate him, but Republicans like Christie as well.

And he is going to drive his opponents even crazier as his popularity soars and his fundraising increases following the latest questionable criminal proceedings against him.

“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” Trump said, echoing the thoughts of millions of Americans. But these are the times we live in. If you can’t beat him, indict him.

Christie, back when he was considered a rising GOP figure, was once against Donald Trump for president before he was for him. Now he is against him again.

Before endorsing Trump in 2016, Christie on the campaign trail referred to Trump as a “carnival barker.”

“I don’t think that he’s suited to be president of the United States,” he said. “I don’t think his temperament is suited for that and I don’t think his experience is.”

After he was routed in the New Hampshire 2016 primary he provided Trump with an important endorsement, becoming the first Republican governor or senator to publicly come out for Trump.

“I will lend my support between now and November in any way for Donald Trump,” Christie said.

Christie then went on to campaign for Trump with the hope perhaps of becoming attorney general or a cabinet secretary. Trump did name Christie to head his transition team after he was elected, but Christie was shortly replaced by Mike Pence.

Now Christie, a longshot in a field of longshots, is on the attack again.

Appearing at a town hall type setting at Saint Anselm College, Christie said, “The person I am talking about, who is obsessed with the mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault, and who always finds someone else and something else to blame for whatever goes wrong, but takes credit for anything that goes right, is Donald Trump.”

Christie could have been talking about Joe Biden.

But neither Christie nor any of the other Republicans candidates are running against Joe Biden. They are running against Donald Trump.

If they think Biden’s cowardly vendetta against Trump will help them, they are wrong.  Trump will campaign on the indictment, and the twisting of the justice system to indict him will only show how fundamentally fearful, vindictive and weak Biden is.

As for several of Trump’s GOP opponents, including Christie, their first (and maybe last) opportunity to confront Trump on it will come at the GOP’s first presidential debate August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

To qualify for the debate, a candidate must have received 40,000 contributions from individual donors; showed at least 1 % in three national polls, or 1% in two national polls and 1% in two early state polls.

The rules are aimed toward eliminating fringe candidates.

Also, each participant must pledge to support whoever emerges as the Republican nominee for president.

Christie, well before he announced, said there was “no way” he would support Trump as the GOP nominee even though Trump does not want or need his support. Trump doesn’t even want or need the debate.

The extraordinary and pathetic indictment of a former president by Biden’s politized U.S. Justice Department on such weak charges may be enough to re-elect Donald Trump.

Peter Lucas is a veteran Massachusetts political reporter and columnist.

During its regular meeting last week, Commissioners learned that, though the state is home to hundreds of thousands of veterans, many of whom would qualify for medical marijuana as a result of service connected disabilities, veterans are not entering the medical marijuana program at nearly the same rates as other adults.

Part of the problem is the law.

“Access to medical marijuana in the regulated industry for veterans in Massachusetts continue to face significant barriers primarily due to the existing federal illegality of cannabis,” commissioners were shown during a presentation by Commissioner Bruce Stebbins.

For the 71,000 Massachusetts veterans using a Veterans Administration facility for healthcare or the 11,000 who are 100% disabled as a result of their service, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, making it inaccessible through the VA. That means veterans cannot get a recommendation from their doctors to get a medical marijuana card or even ask their doctors for advice about use of marijuana.

“I believe that federal prohibition of cannabis has had a chilling effect on our veterans ability to seek treatment here in Massachusetts and perhaps even to pursue employment in the cannabis industry,” Stebbins said. “This is really a question of access and equity for our veterans.”

Another part of the problem is the cost of certification. Medical marijuana cards are issued on a yearly basis with an annual cost for both licensing and processing. That additional expense, on top of the cost of the cannabis itself, can be too much for a veteran on a fixed disability income to add to their already steep health costs.

Commissioners indicated, as a possible statement of policy, that they will support expanding the definition of “qualifying patient” to include veterans using the VA for healthcare who can furnish documentation demonstrating the federal department has diagnosed the veteran with a condition which would normally qualify them for the program.

The commission could also support changing their list of qualifying “debilitating conditions” to include PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and opioid addiction. Too many veterans, commissioners learned, are turning to more dangerous or addictive drugs because they simply have no alternative.

“Veterans are more susceptible to opioid addiction as they are more likely to suffer from chronic pain. In addition, many veterans suffer from mental health problems like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, making them more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol in an attempt to self medicate,” Commissioner Kimberly Roy said.

Mortality rates from drug overdoses among the veteran population have increased by more than 50% in the last decade, Roy told her colleagues, but it’s a problem that the commission is in a unique position to help solve, she said.

“Addressing drug overdose in the veteran population requires accessible and non-judgmental, low threshold, wraparound, and holistic solutions that recognize the complex etiology of overdose risk for veterans,” she said.

While marijuana is legal for adult use in Massachusetts — with or without a medical recommendation — it remains a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance under federal law alongside drugs like heroin or LSD. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, Schedule 1 drugs “are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

Former Trump AG  Bill Barr

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, the former Attorney General said the government was not conducting a “witch hunt” in charging the former president.

“If even half of it is true, then he is toast. It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very, very damning. This idea of presenting Trump as the victim here, victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous,” he said. “He is not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

A former military lawyer, the Sunshine State’s governor called the charges politically motivated, defending his political rival without naming him.

“I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country,” he told a crowd in North Carolina, before referencing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s alleged use of a private server to store classified information. “Is there a different standard for a Democrat Secretary of State versus a former Republican president?”

Former Vice President Mike Pence

Appearing at the same North Carolina venue as his former boss this weekend, Pence criticized the “politicization” of the Justice Department.

“The very nature of a grand jury is that there is no defense presented,” Pence said. “That’s why I said today I’m going to urge patience, encourage people to be prayerful for the former president, but also for all those in authority and for the country going forward.”

Former Ark. Gov. Asa Hutchinson

The former federal prosecutor, two-term Arkansas governor and now-candidate for president, told CNN on Sunday that Trump should get out of the race.

“We need someone who has a high regard for military secrets, for classified documents, and for the rule of law,” he said, speaking from New Hampshire. “We know Donald Trump is not going to drop out of the race, this is going to be an issue that the voters have to decide. My point is that this is bad for our country, bad for the presidency, and it is a legitimate campaign issue.”

N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu

The Granite State’s governor, fresh off his declaration he would not seek the White House in 2024, told CBS that he doesn’t think the charges against Trump are politically motivated, though he stressed it will be hard to explain that to the average voter.

“If half of what they say they can prove is provable, then he’s got a real problem on his hands and it’s self-inflicted… He had every chance in the world to hand all those files and documents back, he did just the opposite and he bragged about keeping them,” he said.

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What to know:

— A timeline of events leading to Trump’s indictment in the classified documents case

— Indictment accuses Trump of scheming and lying to keep secret papers

— A look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and what’s next

— Trump faces a string of inquiries in various states and venues as he campaigns for a return to the White House

— Does the indictment stand to damage Trump’s standing with voters?

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STANDING OVATION FOR TRUMP AT NORTH CAROLINA GOP DINNER

An indictment by the Department of Justice is an attempt to “thwart the will of the American people,” former President Donald Trump said at a state GOP convention dinner in North Carolina.

“I promise you this: If you put me back in the White House, their reign will be over and American will be a free nation once again,” he said to a standing ovation.

The indictment is an attempt to damage his chances for a second term, he alleged.

Trump is accused of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence.

In appearances at Republican state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday, Trump sought to frame the 37 criminal charges he’s facing as an attack on not just him but also his supporters.

“In the end they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I’m just standing in the way,” he said in North Carolina.

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TRUMP VOWS TO CONTINUE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN EVEN IF CONVICTED

Former President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to continue his bid for a second term even if he is convicted in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

“I’ll never leave,” he told Politico in an interview aboard his plane after speaking at a Republican state convention in Georgia. He further predicted that he will not be convicted and sidestepped questions about whether he would pardon himself if elected.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have to,” Trump said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The indictment unsealed Friday accuses Trump of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence.

___

MIKE PENCE DECLINES TO SHARE REACTION TO TRUMP INDICTMENT

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that he has read the indictment outlining federal charges against former President Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

But he declined to share his personal reaction to the content of the indictment, which included photographs of boxes with classified information stacked in a bathroom and on a ballroom stage, or to criticize Trump, whom he is challenging for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

“I’ve read the indictment,” Pence said in an interview with The Associated Press in North Carolina, where he addressed state Republicans.

“I also know that every American’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. And as I said today, we now know the Department of Justice’s view of these matters. But the former president is entitled to present his defense. And we don’t know what the facts of that are.”

“That’s why I said today I’m going to urge patience, encourage people to be prayerful for the former president, but also for all those in authority and for the country going forward,” said Pence, who formally launched his 2024 campaign this week.

___

TRUMP SIGNS AUTOGRAPHS AND POSES FOR PHOTOS AT LOCAL WAFFLE HOUSE

After speaking at the Georgia Republican Convention, Trump stopped by a local Waffle House, where he signed autographs, posed for photos and chatted with supporters.

“We did absolutely nothing wrong,” Trump said of federal authorities unsealing a lengthy indictment accusing him of mishandling national security secrets and then covering up his actions.

He is scheduled to speak to another Republican audience in North Carolina later Saturday.

___

TRUMP CALLS INDICTMENT AN ATTACK ON HIS CAMPAIGN

Speaking Saturday at the Georgia Republican Convention, Trump cast his federal indictment as an attempt to hurt his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term in office.

In his first public appearance since the 37 felony counts against him were unsealed, Trump blasted the indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless.”

“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump said, later adding, “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes. He is scheduled to speak to another Republican audience in North Carolina later Saturday.

___

TRUMP ARRIVES IN GEORGIA FOR STATE GOP CONVENTION APPEARANCE

Former President Donald Trump arrived Saturday in Georgia to chants of “Four more years! Four more years!” from supporters waving signs that read, “Witch Hunt.”

About 100 eager supporters turned out at Columbus airfield for Trump’s first public appearance since federal authorities unsealed a lengthy indictment accusing him of mishandling national security secrets and then covering up his actions.

He’s headed to Georgia Republicans’ state convention, where he’s expected to blast the prosecution as a political exercise because he’s running for president again.

He doesn’t have to convince his audiences Saturday.

Michael Sellers, a 67-year-old Trump backer who came to the airfield, said he’d read the indictment and was aware of accusations that Trump sought to resist returning classified records, which previous presidents have routinely done when coming across such material in their possession.

“It’s criminal what they’re doing to him,” Sellers said. Asked whether he believes Trump will win another term in 2024, Sellers said, “He won the last time. He will win again.”

___

TRUMP SUPPORTERS CHEER FORMER PRESIDENT IN GEORGIA

Scores of Trump supporters braved the beating sun to cheer the former president’s arrival in Columbus, Georgia, as he prepared to deliver two state GOP convention speeches Saturday in the wake of his federal criminal indictment.

Backers waved “Witch Hunt” signs, unbowed a day after federal authorities unsealed a lengthy charging document that depicted Trump as willfully mishandling national security secrets after leaving office and then covering up his actions.

Jan Plemmons, a 66-year-old Trump supporter, called the charges “absolutely ridiculous” and said she’s ready to hit the campaign trail with Trump as he runs for another term in 2024.

“I was watching Fox News this morning, and it’s just crazy,” Plemmons said, as her oversized foam “Make America Great Again” hat bobbed with each emphasis. “It’s just to divert attention.”

Plemmons said she does not dislike Trump’s primary rivals but sees the former president as “the man to put back in the White House and fix this mess that we’re in now.”

— Bill Barrow

___

INDICTMENT EXPECTED TO ADD FUEL TO GOP CAMPAIGN AGAINST JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Congressional Republicans have prepared an aggressive campaign against the Justice Department for months, a key part of former Trump’s public defense against this week’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents.

The GOP counter-offensive against federal prosecutors and others who have investigated Trump avoids the substance of the charges facing the former president. Instead, they have tried to discredit law enforcement and President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, for instance, has issued a series of letters to the Justice Department demanding documents related to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump’s handling of classified records. Jordan has also aggressively sought to undercut Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who in April filed charges against Trump in a New York hush money investigation.

Democrats say Republicans are sowing conspiracy theories with potentially dangerous consequences.

___

NOT ALL PLAN WARM WELCOME FOR TRUMP IN GEORGIA

Although most of the GOP activists attending the Georgia Republican Party convention Saturday are voicing support for Trump, some are suggesting his indictment and record make him a bad choice for the party’s presidential nominee in 2024.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has called for Trump to drop out of the race, got a polite but reserved reception Saturday morning at a party breakfast where Hutchinson touted his bid for the Republican presidential nomination as a “consistent conservative.”

Hutchinson didn’t mention Trump in his speech but told reporters that the Republican Party “should not lose its soul” in defending Trump, saying the evidence so far suggests he treated national secrets “like entertainment tools.”

— Jeff Amy

___

TRUMP HEADED TO GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA FOR CAMPAIGN APPEARANCES

Trump is set to campaign in Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday, making his first public appearances since his federal indictment on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents.

Friendly audiences are expected to welcome Trump at the two state party conventions.

“Trump is a fighter, and the kinds of people that attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020.

A campaign official described Trump’s mood as “defiant” Friday after the indictment was unsealed. Trump has insisted publicly that he committed no wrongdoing and is likely to repeat that theme during Saturday’s appearances.

Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. His rivals have handled news of his indictment cautiously, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also scheduled to address North Carolina Republicans on Saturday.

___

DEMOCRATS CALL FOR PEACEFUL PROCESS; GOP SPEAKER SAYS CASE MAY DISRUPT NATION

The Democratic leaders of both congressional chambers are urging supporters and detractors of Trump alike to let the case against him peacefully run its course in court.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries, also from New York, released a statement saying Trump’s indictment must “play out through the legal process, without any outside political or ideological interference.”

“We encourage Mr. Trump’s supporters and critics alike to let this case proceed peacefully in court,” Schumer and Jeffries said.

That was a departure from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, who suggested that the nation’s core legal values were being undermined.

“This is going to disrupt this nation because it goes to the core of equal justice for all, which is not being seen today,” McCarthy said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And we’re not going to stand for it.”

___

SECRET SERVICE PREPARES FOR TRUMP COURT APPEARANCE

The U.S. Secret Service is preparing for Trump’s appearance at a federal court in Miami on Tuesday after a grand jury indicted him on 37 felony counts related to his handling of classified documents.

Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency “will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former Presidents continued safety” in connection with Trump’s appearance.

He added: “As with any site visited by a protectee, the Secret Service is in constant coordination with the necessary entities to ensure protective requirements are met. We have the utmost confidence in the professionalism and commitment to security shared by our law enforcement partners in Florida.”

Trump’s April 4 arraignment in his New York case, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, attracted a crush of media and protesters, involved multiple street closures, extra security screenings and shut down non-Trump court business for an afternoon.

___

TRUMP KEPT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS IN BATHROOM, SHOWER OF CLUB, INDICTMENT SAYS

The indictment alleges Trump kept classified documents in the bathroom and shower at his Florida estate, as well as various other locations that included a ballroom, storeroom, office and bedroom.

Prosecutors noted that “tens of thousands of members and guests” visited the “active social club” of Mar-a-Lago between the end of Trump’s presidency in January 2021 through the August 2022 search. They argued that “nonetheless” Trump stored documents “in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.”

The indictment claims that, for a two-month period, some of Trump’s boxes were stored in one of Mar-a-Lago’s gilded ballrooms. A picture included in the indictment shows boxes stacked in rows on the ballroom’s stage.

The indictment also shows photographs of boxes that spilled over in the storage room, including a document marked SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY” which means information releasable only to members of the intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the photo the classified document is redacted.

___

LAWYER SAID TRUMP SUGGESTED HE REMOVE DAMAGING DOCUMENTS

The indictment unsealed Friday also says that, unaware of any records being moved, Trump’s attorney on June 2, 2022, identified 38 documents with “classified” markings and placed them in a folder, which he sealed with clear duct tape handed to him by Trump valet Walt Nauta. The valet then took the attorney to see the former president.

“Did you find anything? Is it bad? … Is it good?” the lawyer said Trump asked.

The attorney told federal authorities that he discussed the folder of classified material with Trump and how the material should be handled. The attorney told authorities that as they discussed the attorney taking the materials with him, Trump gestured in a way that suggested he wanted the attorney to identify “anything really bad” and “you know, pluck it out.” The lawyer clarified that Trump did not articulate such instructions beyond making that “plucking motion.”

The attorney told authorities that he did not take anything out of the folder and that he instead immediately contacted the FBI and another Trump attorney. On June 3, according to the indictment, the second Trump attorney acted as the official custodian of records on Trump’s behalf and turned the material to the FBI.

___

INDICTMENT ALLEGES VALET MOVED BOXES AT TRUMP’S DIRECTION

The indictment alleges that Nauta acted “at Trump’s direction” to move move “approximately 64 boxes” of documents from the Mar-a-Lago storage room to the former president’s residence. Nauta’s actions occurred between May 23, 2022, and June 2, 2022, according to the indictment.

That total includes “approximately 30 boxes” Nauta allegedly moved on June 2, the same day Trump’s legal team was expected to examine the cache. Nauta’s actions that day came hours after he talked briefly via phone with Trump, prosecutors allege. Neither Trump nor Nauta, according to the indictment, disclosed to the former president’s attorneys that Nauta had moved any of the storage room contents.

According to prosecutors’ timeline, Trump met later that day with one of his attorneys and Nauta escorted the attorney to the storage room for his review of the documents

On Friday, Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation Committee released a 773-page proposal to reauthorize FAA programs for the next five years.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., described the proposal as a compromise and said many issues could still be fought out when congressional committees begin considering changes in the legislation next week.

The FAA is under fire for a shortage of air traffic controllers, aging technology and close calls between planes. The agency has a new acting administrator with no aviation experience. It has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader for more than a year, since the last one resigned halfway through his term.

One provision of the House bill would let airlines advertise the “base airfare” — excluding taxes and fees — as long as they include a link to the all-in price or disclose it some other way. That would weaken an Obama administration rule that airlines have long fought to kill, and consumer advocates are unhappy about the House move.

“These protections were hard fought and took years to enact,” said William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Any consumer can tell you that online airline bookings are confusing enough. The last thing we need is to roll back an existing protection that provides effective transparency.”

The House committee leaders also propose to let people become airline pilots with less time in the cockpit. The bill would not change the requirement for 1,500 hours of training, but it would allow 250 hours — up from the current 100 hours — to occur in simulators rather than flying a plane.

Airlines, particularly the smaller ones that operate regional flights, have long fought against the 1,500-hour rule, which already has exemptions that let military pilots and graduates of some aviation schools qualify with fewer hours. The rule was put in after a 2009 crash that killed 50 people.

Garth Thompson, head of the Air Line Pilots Association unit at United Airlines, said it is “a horrible idea” to weaken the rule.

“That rule, like so many federal aviation regulations, is written in blood, literally,” Thompson said. “That regulation came about because of the Colgan Air crash and other crashes that involved experience issues.”

Asked about changes in airfare advertising and pilot training, Larsen said, “It’s something we can live with.” The change in pilot training rules, he said, is a priority of the Transportation Committee’s Republican chairman, Sam Graves of Missouri, and both sides had to compromise during drafting of the bill.

Elsewhere in the bill, Larsen said, Democrats were able to include provisions they wanted, such as those covering wheelchair accessibility.

The bill also includes provisions aimed at improving airport infrastructure and the supply of sustainable aviation fuel. It would require airline planes to be outfitted with better cockpit voice recorders and, for the first time, cockpit video recorders to improve accident investigations. Pilots have opposed the video recorders.

Some other contentious topics were left out, including raising the mandatory retirement age of 65 for pilots and easing restrictions on flights from Reagan Washington National Airport in northern Virginia.

Six communities in Massachusetts have already directed their police departments to not make arrests for possession of psilocybin, a move that effectively decriminalizes the use of the drug. Advocates now argue the lawmakers should pass bills from a pair of Democrats that decriminalize so-called magic mushrooms on a statewide level.

“It’s ridiculous that a plant medicine we’ve been using for tens of thousands of years that grows straight from the ground that … has the lowest harms of any controlled substance, far less than alcohol and cigarettes that we buy at corner stores, is not available to people who could really benefit,” said James Davis, a former Beacon Hill staffer who now runs Bay Staters for Natural Medicine.

Rep. Lindsay Sabadossa and Sen. Pat Jehlen filed bills that decriminalize possession, ingestion, obtaining, growing, giving away “without financial gain” to people 18 years and older, and transportation of up to two grams of psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, and mescaline.

The proposals are scheduled for a Tuesday hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by two Democrats, Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Michael Day.

Psilocybin is the chemical commonly found in magic mushrooms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted “breakthrough” status to psilocybin in 2017, and has since approved applications for companies to investigate its use in treating various disorders.

Somerville, Cambridge, Northampton, Easthampton, Amherst, and Salem are the communities in Massachusetts that have directed their police to not make arrests related to psilocybin.

Former City Councilor William Dwight and Councilor Rachel Maiore proposed the resolution in Northampton on psilocybin mushrooms, arguing the use of the substance helps people with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic depression, cluster headaches, and substance abuse.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a resurgence of heroin and opioid overdose deaths and severe depression in Massachusetts communities, two ailments that entheogenic plants have been shown to have particularly strong utility in treating according to published, peer-reviewed medical research,” the two city lawmakers wrote in their successful resolution.

Sabadosa, a Democrat from Northampton, said being able to turn back to the local debate “really does help” when putting together legislation at the State House. And the idea for the bill, she said, came from constituents, who pitched her on the proposal during a meeting at a coffee shop.

“Their stories resonated with me because what they were telling me was that they were looking for what is effectively a harm reduction bill … It’ll decriminalize, it doesn’t legalize,’ she told the Herald. “… I believe very strongly in this idea of decriminalizing and making things safer for people.”

Colorado voted to legalize psilocybin in 2022 and Oregon was the first state to allow adults to use the drug after a successful ballot measure passed in 2020. Davis said legalization in Massachusetts would reduce the stigma that surrounds research scholars from studying the effects of the drug.

Adults found growing magic mushrooms could face up to 10 years in prison, according to the Bay State for Natural Medicine.

“The state law is really necessary to back up that community power. And a lot of police already privately don’t enforce laws against psilocybin mushrooms, it does happen,” Davis said. “And some people have had their lives destroyed by those arrests.”

FULL TEXT: Trump Indictment

His 53.2% national average, tallied by Real Clear Politics, is a football field ahead of the 22.4% Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds in second place. All others drop so far behind it doesn’t seem like a race, yet.

DeSantis was quick to blast the Justice Department for targeting the ex-president in a 37-count indictment.

“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” tweeted DeSantis, referring to Hillary Clinton and her secret server and presidential trainwreck son Hunter Biden.

The real test will come in the weeks ahead as pollsters chart the fallout from the DOJ’s indictment of Trump. Until then, it’s a game of survival and lukewarm support by other GOP presidential rivals.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley holds an anemic 4.4% national polling average far back in third place. Former VP Mike Pence, also given the job by Trump, is next with 3.8%.

The rest include: Vivek Ramaswamy (2.6%); South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (1.6%); former NJ Gov. Chris Christie (1%); with Asa Hutchinson with less than 1%.

Yet, unlike most in his party, Hutchinson wasn’t quick to defend Trump, being quoted as saying: “Donald Trump’s actions—from his willful disregard for the constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law—should not define our nation or the Republican party.”

Christie wants to see “more facts” and Ramaswamy tweeted he’d “pardon” Trump if elected.

As for President Biden, he’s blasting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 59.3% to 16.8%, in a Real Clear Politics national average. But, Kennedy “is doing unexpectedly well in some polls,” the Hill is reporting.

Veteran pollster John Zogby told the Herald Friday night pollsters are just now preparing to “go into the field” to gauge the reaction to Trump’s indictment with results not likely until Sunday.

“There’s no polling data on this right now,” he said, “but there is some data showing Trump’s lead over DeSantis is tightening, especially in Iowa.”

How likely voters digest the allegations against the former president could upend the GOP 2024 race or just pump more contributions into Trump’s war chest making him even more indestructible.

Time will tell.

That comes as lawmakers on Beacon Hill are sorting through legislative responses to what has been described as an “alarming” situation after 116 reports came into the Boston Police Department last year. And department officials have said they are concerned about a “real threat” to the public.

Drinking spiking incidents have permeated the United States “for quite some time now,” said Shannon Hogan, the sexual assault kit initiative site director for the Boston Police Department.

Boston police “continue to learn more and take action” as they partner with their licensing unit, work to track incidents, raise public awareness, and offer an option to report drink spiking on police reports,” Hogan said earlier this week at a legislative hearing.

“While such documented occurrences of the use of these drugs or ‘roofies’ in the U.S. date back to the early 1990s, a recent resurgence of these crimes have been identified along with the explosion of synthetic drugs,” Hogan said.

Boston police spokesman Sergeant Detective John Boyle said the addition of a checkbox on police reports allows the department to easily track incidents of drink spiking.

Hogan said the lack of date rape drug testing protocols at hospitals that can provide clarity to victims and the public “have left survivors to navigate an unclear system without solutions or support.”

“The time has come to remove the misconceptions and stigma surrounding these types of crimes from the dark and murky place and put it into the light,” Hogan said. “Equipping our hospitals with the ability to test for these drugs and, overall, provide law enforcement with the necessary tools during these investigations, as well as collecting valid and reliable data, will result in clarity surrounding these crimes and assist us in holding these vendors accountable.”

Boyle said the department also “periodically” broadcasts community alerts reminding the public of the dangers of scentless, colorless, and tasteless drugs like Rohypnol, also known as a roofie.

“These drugs and substances can cause disorientation, confusion, temporary paralysis, or unconsciousness, along with a host of other symptoms, leaving the potential victim vulnerable to the intentions of the suspect,” one recent community alert said.

And at least one Foxborough Democrat is taking aim at testing protocols at hospitals to make it easier for anyone to find out if they have been drugged or had their drink spiked.

Sen. Paul Feeney filed legislation that would require hospitals to develop and implement a testing standard for patients who report they have been involuntarily drugged, regardless if sexual assault had occurred.

Feeney’s bill, which is before the Legislature’s Public Health Committee, also requires the Department of Public Health to create a Date Rape Drug Response and Intervention Task Force to figure out how to best collect data on confirmed drink spiking incidents.

Feeney is also behind a successful push to add funding to the state Senate’s fiscal 2024 budget to hand out drink spiking test kits to bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.

But, as the saying goes, when it rains it pours.

And it poured all over the FBI when it was announced that former FBI Agent Robert P. Hanssen, 79, “the most damaging spy in (FBI) history,” was found dead in his prison cell at the supermax U.S. Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado Monday.

Hassen had been serving life without parole after pleading guilty in 2001 to selling classified information to the Russians for $1.4 million in cash, bank funds and diamonds.

Among the information he sold was that the U.S. had dug a Cold War tunnel beneath the Soviet embassy in Washington for eavesdropping purposes. Another was that he provided Moscow with the names of three KGB officers who were spying for the U.S., two of whom were later executed.

Paul J. McNulty, the U.S. attorney who prosecuted Hanssen, said Hanssen’s crimes “cannot be overstated. They will long be remembered for being among the most egregious betrayals of trust in U.S. history. It was both a low point and an investigative success for the FBI.”

It was “an investigative success.” But what McNulty failed to add was that Hanssen operated as a Russian spy for 20 years before he was caught. And he was even surprised that he got away with it for so long.

Adding to the fallen image of the FBI was the arrest and indictment earlier this year of one of its former top counterintelligence agents.

That is Charles F. McGonigal, formerly head of the New York counterintelligence office, who was charged with selling access to Russian and Albanian officials in exchange for $240,000.

McGonigal, who is awaiting trial, was once considered an agency rockstar, who had access to some of the most sensitive information in the FBI’s possession.

FBI Director Wray at the time pointed out that like Hanssen, it was the FBI that initiated the McGonigal investigation, even though he did not say for how long McGonigal had been rogue.

Wray said the charges against McGonigal demonstrated “the FBI’s willingness as an organization to shine a bright light on conduct that is totally unacceptable, including when it happens from one of our own people, and to hold those people accountable.”

That “bright light” comment may come as a surprise to former FBI officials who have become persona non grata by the FBI after becoming whistleblowers and testifying on FBI wrongdoing before Congress.

It will also come as a surprise to Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

Both repeatedly pressed Wray to publicly release unclassified documents — including with a subpoena — that allege that Joe Biden took a $5 million bribe from a foreign national to affect public policy when he was vice president.

While Wray provided an hour-long, closed-door briefing for Comer and ranking Democrat committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, Comer said Wray still refused to turn over the documents to the committee.

However, upon the threat of contempt, Way finally caved.

No matter the outcome, McCarthy, Comer and the Republicans in the House appear determined to punish the FBI by withholding funds from the FBI for its $4 billion proposed new office building complex until it changes its ways, including stopping the politicization of the agency and ending its campaign against conservatives.

McCarthy said that the unwanted proposed structure would even be bigger than the Pentagon.

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, head of a subcommittee on public buildings, said all agencies that “have been weaponized” against the American people need to be scrutinized.

Republican Rep.  Andy Harris of Maryland, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said, “I think that the FBI building’s funding this year is in definite jeopardy. We should not fund the new FBI headquarters until we get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

If you don’t build it, they will not come.

Peter Lucas is a veteran Massachusetts political reporter and columnist.

MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump improperly stored in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map, according to a sweeping felony indictment that paints a damning portrait of the former president’s treatment of national security information.

The conduct alleged in the historic indictment — the first federal case against a former president — cuts to the heart of any president’s responsibility to safeguard the government’s most valuable secrets. Prosecutors say the documents he stowed, refused to return and in some cases showed to visitors risked jeopardizing not only relations with foreign nations but also the safety of troops and confidential sources.

“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced,” Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, said in his first public statements. “Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”

Trump, currently the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is due to make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Miami. In a rare bit of welcome news for the former president, the judge initially assigned to the case is someone he appointed and who drew criticism for rulings in his favor during a dispute last year over a special master assigned to review the seized classified documents. Meanwhile, two lawyers who worked the case for months announced Friday that they had resigned from Trump’s legal team.

All told, Trump faces 37 felony counts — 31 pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information, the balance relating to alleged conspiracy, obstruction and false statements — that could result in a substantial prison sentence in the event of a conviction. A Trump aide who prosecutors said moved dozens of boxes at his Florida estate at his direction, and then lied to investigators about it, was charged in the same indictment with conspiracy and other crimes.

Trump responded to the indictment Friday by falsely conflating his case with a separate classified documents investigation concerning President Joe Biden. Though classified records were found in a Biden home and office, there has been no indication that the president, unlike Trump, sought to conceal them or knew they were there.

“Nobody said I wasn’t allowed to look at the personal records that I brought with me from the White House. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges. But among the various investigations he has faced, legal experts — as well as Trump’s own aides — had long seen the Mar-a-Lago probe as the most perilous threat and the one most ripe for prosecution. Campaign aides had been bracing for the fallout since Trump’s attorneys were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it was not a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.

The indictment arrives at a time when Trump is continuing to dominate the Republican presidential primary. A Trump campaign official described the former president’s mood as “defiant” and he is expected to deliver a full-throated rebuke of the filing during a speech before Republican Party officials in Georgia Saturday afternoon and will also speak in North Carolina in the evening

Aides were notably more reserved after the indictment’s unsealing as they reckoned with the gravity of the legal charges and the threat they pose to Trump beyond the potential short-term political gain.

The document’s startling scope and breadth of allegations, including a reliance on surveillance video and an audio recording, will almost certainly make it harder for Republicans to rail against than an earlier New York criminal case that many legal analysts had derided as weak.

The documents case is a milestone for a Justice Department that had investigated Trump for years — as president and private citizen — but had never before charged him with a crime. The most notable investigation was an earlier special counsel probe into ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia, but prosecutors in that probe cited Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president. Once he left office, though, he lost that protection.

The inquiry took a major step forward last November when Attorney General Merrick Garland, a soft-spoken former federal judge who has long stated that no person should be regarded as above the law, appointed Smith, a war crimes prosecutor with an aggressive, hard-charging reputation, to lead both the documents probe as well as a separate investigation into efforts to subvert the 2020 election. That investigation remains pending.

The 49-page indictment centers on hundreds of classified documents that Trump took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office in January 2021. Even as “tens of thousands of members and guests” visited Mar-a-Lago between the end of Trump’s presidency and August 2022, when the FBI obtained a search warrant, documents were recklessly stored in spaces including a “ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.”

The indictment claims that, for a two-month period between January and March 15, 2021, some of Trump’s boxes were stored in one of Mar-a-Lago’s gilded ballrooms. A picture included in the indictment shows boxes stacked in rows on the ballroom’s stage.

Prosecutors allege that Trump, who claimed without evidence that he had declassified all the documents before leaving office, understood his duty to care for classified information but shirked it anyway. It details a July 2021 meeting in Bedminster in which he boasted about having held onto a classified document prepared by the military about a potential attack on another country.

“Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” the indictment quotes him as saying, citing an audio recording. He also said he could have declassified the document but “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” according to the indictment.

Using Trump’s own words and actions, as recounted to prosecutors by lawyers, aides and other witnesses, the indictment alleges both a refusal to return the documents despite more than a year’s worth of government demands but also steps that he encouraged others around him to take to conceal the records.

For instance, prosecutors say, after the Justice Department issued a subpoena for the records in May 2022, Trump asked his own lawyers if he could defy the request and said words to the effect of, “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” one of his lawyers described him as saying.

But before his own lawyer searched the property for classified records, the indictment says, Trump directed aides to remove from the Mar-a-Lago storage room boxes of documents so that they would not be found during the search and therefore handed over to the government.

Weeks later, when Justice Department officials arrived at Mar-a-Lago to collect the records, they were handed a folder with only 38 documents and an untrue letter attesting that all documents responsive to the subpoena had been turned over. That day, even as Trump assured investigators that he was “an open book,” aides loaded several of Trump’s boxes onto a plane bound for Bedminster, the indictment alleges.

But suspecting that many more remained inside, the FBI obtained a search warrant and returned in August to recover more than 100 additional documents. The Justice Department says Trump held onto more than 300 classified documents, including some at the top secret level.

Walt Nauta, one of the personal aides alleged to have transported the boxes around the complex, lied to the FBI about the movement of the boxes and faces charges that he conspired to hide them, according to the indictment. His lawyer declined to comment.

____

Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Michael R. Sisak in New York, Meg Kinnard in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Gary Fields and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report. Tucker and Whithurst reported from Washington. Colvin reported from Greensboro, North Carolina.

Former President Donald Trump, now facing a federal indictment, was caught on tape admitting he was in possession of a secret military document at a 2021 meeting at his New Jersey golf resort, according to a transcript of the damning audiotape reported on Friday.

“As president, I could have declassified. But now I can’t,” Trump says on the tape, according to the transcript obtained by CNN.

Trump, who on Thursday was reportedly charged with seven counts for taking hundreds of classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving office, was discussing a secret U.S. plan to attack Iran in a meeting with researchers for an unrelated book project at his Bedminster resort.

According to the tape transcript, the former president then flashes a document that he boasts is highly classified.

“It’s, like, confidential. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump adds, according to the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.”

The transcript report came hours after Trump announced that he had been indicted on charges stemming from his taking classified documents to his Florida resort after leaving office. It makes Trump the first former president in U.S. history to face federal criminal charges even as he leads the race for the Republican presidential nomination by a wide margin.

He could face a trial in the midst of a 2024 White House campaign and the possibility of a prison sentence if convicted.

The Justice Department did not immediately confirm the indictment publicly and would normally be expected to unveil the charging documents on Tuesday afternoon when Trump says he has been summoned to appear in Miami federal court.

A Trump defense lawyer said the charges include retaining classified documents, obstruction of justice, violations of the espionage act and conspiracy.

Trump shook up his legal team within hours of the indictment. He said Todd Blanche, a veteran and respected white collar defense lawyer, will lead the defense team for the case that will unfold in south Florida starting next week. His previous lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned Friday.

In a shocking twist, Trump’s case was initially assigned to controversial right-wing federal District Judge Aileen Cannon, ABC News first reported.

It was not immediately clear if Cannon would preside over only the arraignment or the entire case.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, made several pro-Trump rulings that legal experts derided as legally unfounded. Her actions delayed the investigation into the documents until they were overturned by higher courts.

Trump wasted no time lashing out at the indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith, a dogged former Brooklyn prosecutor.

“I am an innocent man,” Trump declared on his social media site late Thursday night. “This is … a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”

Republican leaders, including most of his GOP presidential rivals, quickly backed the former president, reflecting his strong grip on the the party. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is a distant second in most polls to Trump, blasted the Justice Department for targeting the ex-president.

“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” tweeted DeSantis, referring to GOP bogeymen Hillary Clinton and presidential son Hunter Biden.

President Joe Biden, the likely Democratic candidate in 2024, has not commented on the indictment.

Trump took some 300 classified documents after exiting the White House in January 2021, according to prosecutors.

After months of haggling with federal archives officials, he returned several boxes. But prosecutors demanded the rest of them, prompting them to hit him with a subpoena. Trump lawyers handed over some documents and signed a statement that they conducted a “diligent search” that revealed no additional classified materials.

But prosecutors later became convinced that Trump was hiding even more documents, leading to a bombshell judge-approved search that turned up about more than 100 of the additional classified documents.

The documents found by the feds reportedly include some that described the nuclear capabilities of a foreign power and others that could expose American spies and intelligence methods. Some of the most sensitive documents were found in Trump’s personal office.

The case adds to fast-deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been charged with state crimes in New York related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump, 77, also faces a separate probe by Smith for his effort to overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 election that culminated with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

There are also serious civil legal woes like the sprawling fraud case filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump’s eponymous real estate company.

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©2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

That missing ingredient is… Donald J. Trump.

God knows the Democrats and state-run media (but I repeat myself) are thrashing about, trying to find some possible way, no matter how far-fetched, to blame Bad Clouds on POTUS. Thus far they appear to be flailing.

What Trump says in all those Internet memes to Republicans now applies to Democrats as well:

“Do you miss me yet?”

Having a crisis – especially a “climate crisis” – without Trump to blame it on is like having a mocktail instead of a cocktail, a near beer instead of a real beer. For the media, a Trump-less catastrophe is as unsatisfying as “mostly-peaceful rioting” without looting or Molotov cocktails.

The smoke is bad, but seriously, is it any worse than the weed odors wafting up from every bleeping street corner in blue America, puffed out by all the student-loan deadbeats and illegal immigrants loitering while awaiting their next TANF and EBT direct deposits?

These fires started in Canada. But surely that can’t be possible – next thing you know you’ll be telling me that Hillary Clinton paid for the Russian collusion hoax, or that Hunter Biden’s laptop wasn’t “Russian disinformation,” despite what 51 Democrat hacks lied.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might as well be a Democrat – he nationalized the protesting truckers’ bank accounts. He wants to disarm his citizens. He’s never had a real job. His father is rumored to be Fidel Castro or Mick Jagger. He has great hair, better hair than Gavin Newsom.

Obviously, a boy, er man of Trudeau’s stature couldn’t have created this crisis, and may I be the first to suggest that this is indeed an “existential crisis?”

Or it would be, anyway, if Trump were still in the White House.

Without Trump, it’s like hell without the devil. Something big is missing.

Don’t forget that Climate Cult is an organized religion. Democrats used to have newspapers and TV stations. Now they have religious tracts, and dollar-a-holler cable channels like CNN and MSDNC.

Their “journalists,” like the false seers of yore, can see omens and premonitions in the sky. This goes back to ancient times. Right before the Ides of March, Mrs. Julius Caesar foresaw battles “fought upon the clouds … most horrible sights seen by the watch.”

Forget Shakespeare, just go to The New York Times for the most horrible sights seen by the watch.

It’s alarming, the Times screamed in print yesterday, the way these clouds are smothering, billowing, blanketing, choking, suffocating and scorching. Other features of this GOP reign of terror include “stunning” lightning strikes, not to mention forests “turning to tinder.”

I sense another very-fake-news Pulitzer Prize in the works, for overheated rhetoric.

Is the world going to end, I asked our modern Delphic oracle, the Times? Maybe, the sheeple were told. But feareth not, brethren, the end of times will come only in “the not-too-distant future.”

In other words, just distant enough in the future so that we’ll have forgotten this week’s Armageddon.

It’s so terrible, the Times announced, that this spring “scientists announced with uncharacteristic alarm….”

Huh? When was the last time you heard one of their “scientists” speak with anything other than uncharacteristic alarm? If you want to get on state-run media, you’d damn well better be running around shouting “The sky is falling!”

I would describe uncharacteristic alarm among “scientists” quoted on state-run media as a characteristic, a feature, not a bug.

Is there even the slightest chance that this might be another overreaction, you know, like COVID-19, or global cooling?

“Though there is no specific research yet attributing this week’s events to global warming,” the Times grudgingly concedes, “the science is unequivocal.”

Unequivocal science. Just like it was with COVID-19. And vaccines. And global cooling.

Do you want to know who the most superstitious, ignorant rubes in society are? All the Democrats who chant, “Follow the science.”

These are the same Biden-voting boobs who believed Anthony Fauci. They’re still wearing masks outside after all these years. Actually, those may be the people secretly most excited by this week’s sky-is-falling doomsday rhetoric.

Because now they can wear their N95’s again outside proudly and not have normal people staring at them as if they’ve just escaped from a nuthouse.

Another group of deadbeats over the moon about this: the employees who want to continue their three-year paid vacations. You know, the “work-from-home” contingent. In other words, the hippies who get paid for not working, and that’s just fine with them.

And now they have a new excuse. Dude, like we totally wouldn’t mind going back to the office, except, like, we might die, because of what the fascist in the White House is doing to the planet….

Oh wait, like, you mean, Trump’s not the president anymore? Bummer, man! Is that why The Man wants me to start paying back the loans I took out for the queer-studies program at the community college?

This wasn’t a national emergency until airline flights from the three New York airports started getting canceled a couple of days ago. If it were only private jets being grounded, the ones that carry John Kerry and the rest of the Beautiful People to the islands and to the Hamptons, then this would be a comedy rather than a tragedy.

Too bad they don’t teach history anymore. But you can still google “Year without Summer.” That would be 1816. There was a volcano that year. If you think wildfires throw off a lot of smoke, read up on the “Year without Summer.”

But without Donald Trump, something is missing. The corrupt feds are going to have to indict him. Either that, or storm into the dressing rooms at CNN and MSDNC and confiscate all the anchors’ belts and shoelaces.

What if they threw a climate catastrophe and Donald Trump wasn’t there to take the rap? Would anyone still hear it?

You might even say that would be an existential crisis.