Defiant Donald Trump threatens to prosecute Joe Biden hours after court appearance in Miami

A defiant and angry Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute Joe Biden if he wins reelection and claimed he was the victim of the kind of political persecution seen in a “fascist or communist nation”.

In a loud, raucous conclusion to an historic day in which the former president had appeared before a court in Miami, Florida, to plead not guilty to 37 federal charges, Mr Trump flew to one of his clubs in New Jersey and delivered what was part campaign speech and part wild claims about other former occupants of the Oval Office.

“Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” claimed Mr Trump. “It’s a very sad thing to watch a corrupt sitting president have his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty, right in the middle of a presidential election in which he’s losing very badly.”

He added: “This is called election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election. More importantly, it’s a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday, had appeared before a federal court in Miami where his lawyers entered a not guilty plea to 37 charges, 31 of them alleged breaches of the 1917 Espionage Act. The charges followed an FBI raid at Mr Trump’s home, where agents recovered boxes of classified documents he had taken with him when he left the White House in Jan 2021.

Given it was a federal courtroom, there were no television cameras or photographers permitted. Yet reports said Mr Trump sat quietly during the 45 minute hearing, not even speaking to the judge and allowing his lawyers talk on his behalf.

Prosecutors did not seek to hold him in custody, and US Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman put no restrictions on his travel, or that of his aide, Walt Nauta, who has been charged with moving some of the hundreds of boxes containing various documents. Prosecutors alleged some documents related to the defensive capabilities of the US and other countries, as well as details of America’s nuclear weapons.

The only restriction he sought to place on Mr Trump was that he ought not to talk to Mr Nauta, who did not enter a plea because he did not have a lawyer present.

How seriously the former president took the judge’s instructions was unclear, as minutes after his convoy of vehicles left the court, Mr Trump stepped out of his black Chevrolet Suburban and made a stop at Versailles, a famous Cuban American restaurant and cafe where he received a hero’s welcome.

Many commentators pointed out, that with the absence of any video of him in the court, Mr Trump was keen to ensure the media covered him being cheered and applauded.

The former president’s appearance in court came two months after he was arrested and charged in New York in connection with a hush money payment to a former porn actress.

Even that was historic; no former president had ever before been criminally charged.

Yet the events of Tuesday felt much more significant, and weighted with occasion. Even many of the former president’s critics were surprised that he was being charged over a 2016 payment that every one knew about and few appeared bothered by.

The charges leveled at Mr Trump by a federal special counsel are of a different nature entirely, and some of his Republican rivals who previously denounced the charges, said – having seen the details that were made public – that they were serious and needed to be addressed.

The charges carry a potential penalty of 400 years jail time.

“If this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security,” Nikki Haley, Mr Trump’s former UN Ambassador and a 2024 hopeful, told Fox News, in comments that showed a marked shift in tone.

In truth, Ms Haley and other GOP contenders must be desperately trying to find a way to address the moment. While one might assume that being charged with such crimes would harm Mr Trump’s chances, he remains a clear front runner for the Republican Party’s nomination, squeezing out the oxygen of media attention they will require if they are to break through.

One hopeful, Vivek Ramaswamy, flew to Miami, vowed to pardon Mr Trump if he was president and challenged others contenders to do the same.

A poll carried by the website FiveThirtyEight showed Mr Trump on 54 points, more than 30 ahead of his nearest rival, Florida governor Ron DeSantis. And if the coming days play out in a way similar to Mr Trump’s previous court appearance, he can expect to see his numbers bump up and his campaign coffers boosted. His GOP rivals will similarly likely tie themselves up trying to find a way to respond.

In his 30-minute speech in New Jersey, Mr Trump made a serious of wild, impossible-to-fact-check-in-real-time, allegations about previous presidents, including Bill Clinton. He claimed the Democrat had left the Oval Office with 77 tapes hidden in his socks.

He also claimed Mr Clinton had “lost the nuclear codes”, a reference to a claim made more than 12 years ago by a former top military official in a book.

“The Bushes lost 22 million emails, and Hillary took hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of furniture, china, and rugs and she was never prosecuted,” complained Mr Trump At one point, he appeared to address why he had held onto the documents, an apparent admission.

“Many people have asked me why I had these boxes, why did you want them,” he said.

“The answer, in addition to having every right under the Presidential Records Act, is that these boxes were containing all types of personal belongings many, many things shirts and shoes, everything as can be seen in the picture.”

Mr Trump concluded by vowing that if he beats Mr Biden next year, he would appoint a “real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family”.

He added: “I will totally obliterate the deep state. We know who they are. I know exactly who they are. They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom. They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you.“