Tuesday in Miami, former President Donald Trump was arraigned in the case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Vice President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice. Trump’s counsel entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf in federal court.

The federal judge granted Trump pre-trial release with no restrictions other than a prohibition on witness contact. Smith has filed 37 charges against Trump relating to his management of classified documents. Trump, President Joe Biden’s chief opponent in next year’s presidential election, could face decades in prison if proven guilty on all charges.

Judge Goodman, who presided over Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday, did not permit cameras, phones, or electronic devices in the courtroom in Miami; however, reporters reported what they observed while inside.

“However, there was no apparent eye contact between Trump and Smith during the day’s proceedings. Trump sat with his arms folded most of the time, talking with his lawyers occasionally. But Trump did not speak and Magistrate Judge Goodman never addressed him directly,” Fox News reported.

“Judge Goodman asked both sides if they agreed to waive the reading of the indictment, to which they agreed, so the matter got to Trump’s arraignment fairly quickly. Most of the arguments from both sides were about Trump’s contact with potential witnesses, and the defense pointed out that they don’t even have a full list of witnesses yet,” the outlet added.

Evan Perez of CNN was also in the courtroom and reported that Trump did not appear enthusiastic to be there.

“He had a very serious look on his face, periodically had his arms folded,” Perez said. “The former president entered the room probably about 30 or 40 minutes before the judge. We couldn’t see exactly when he entered the room because the televisions of the room that we were in were not turned on immediately, but we saw, you know, the lawyers take their seats and the former president sort of twiddling his thumbs while he waited for proceedings to take his place.”

At least twice, according to the indictment, Trump is alleged to have shown classified documents to individuals who lacked the necessary security clearances. The DOJ claims that both incidents occurred at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

CNN received information regarding one of the alleged instances.

The network reported that federal prosecutors had “obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which former President Donald Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, multiple sources told CNN, undercutting his argument that he declassified everything.”

Trump announced last Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice had indicted him on charges related to his handling of classified materials.

The charges “include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, a scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations,” ABC News reported.

“Maximum sentences for the respective charges, per their statutes, range from five up to 20 years, although any eventual sentence should Trump be convicted would likely be much lower,” the outlet added.

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

One of Trump’s attorneys ripped Joe Biden’s Justice Department during a Monday interview and said that her client was “100 percent” allowed to possess the classified materials he’s been indicted for having. CONTINUE READING…