Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in his blockbuster Mar-a-Lago documents case

• Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in court after surrendering to US Marshals Tuesday.
• He's the first ex-president to be charged in federal court — and now the first to enter a plea.

Former President Donald Trump entered a not-guilty plea to the 37 criminal counts against him in an indictment brought by the Justice Department's special counsel, Jack Smith.

Trump surrendered to the custody of the US Marshals Service and was arrested on Tuesday ahead of his historic appearance at an arraignment in Miami federal court. Justice Department prosecutors allege he withheld classified records from the government after leaving office and attempted to obstruct their return.

US Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman allowed the former president to walk free ahead of an expected criminal trial rather than remain in jail or have a cash bond imposed upon him. The judge deemed that Trump, a candidate for the 2024 presidential election, was not a flight risk.

Trump will be provided with a list of potential witnesses he won't be able to communicate with unless it's through counsel. He won't be allowed to discuss the case with Waltine Nauta, one of his personal aides who was also indicted.

Much of Trump's 40-minute appearance in court on Tuesday centered on the details of these limitations, with Trump's defense arguing that many of the witnesses will be people who interact with him on a daily basis. Not allowing Trump to interact with staff at his clubs or with members of the Secret Service would be "inappropriate" and "doesn't work," Todd Blanche, one of his attorneys, said.

Trump is the first former president to be charged by federal prosecutors and now the first former president to be forced to show up in a federal courthouse and proclaim his innocence. Secret Service agents escorted him to his court appearance as crowds looked on.

Blanche spoke for him before the judge. "We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty," he said.

On Friday, the court unsealed a 38-count indictment against Trump and Nauta. Prosecutors accused Trump of violating the Espionage Act 31 times by illegally holding on to sensitive national-security documents in his Mar-a-Lago home after he left office in January 2021 and refusing to hand them back to the National Archives. Trump also conspired to obstruct justice, lied to law enforcement, and violated three different statutes related to withholding and concealing government records, according to the indictment.

Nauta, a codefendant in the case, did not enter a plea during the court appearance Tuesday. Prosecutors brought six criminal counts against him, also related to how he handled the documents. Goodman ordered Trump and Nauta not to discuss the case with each other ahead of trial.

Nauta was not arraigned because he has yet to obtain counsel in Florida, although his attorney, Stanley Woodward, was with him in court. His arraignment is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. on June 27 in Miami before Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres.

"The good news is it will not be me," Judge Goodman said jokingly.

Nauta also won't face a cash bond or travel limitations and does not have to personally appear in court. Goodman spent about 20 minutes on Nauta's bond, with Woodward saying there was a mistake in the paperwork, which was remedied before Nauta signed.

Trump appeared somber in court

Trump seemed somber during much of Tuesday's arraignment. He often crossed his arms and appeared to be staring straight ahead. At one point, when the judge was speaking with Nauta's attorney, Blanche whispered something to Trump, cupping his hand around his mouth, and Trump chuckled.

Insider watched the proceedings via a telecast inside the court building. More than 50 reporters huddled around TVs in a jury-selection waiting room, while 31 reporters were allowed inside the courtroom. Another nine members of the public, all of whom began waiting in line the night before the arraignment, were also granted access to the courtroom.

The US Marshals Service notified reporters when Trump arrived at around 1:50 p.m. ET.

Goodman encouraged those in the courtroom to "make yourselves comfortable" and reminded onlookers that they couldn't record any of the proceedings or take photos. Laptops and cellphones were not allowed inside the courtroom. By 3:43 p.m., the court proceedings had adjourned.

Trump's legal team waived the formal reading of the charges against him.

Jack Smith, the special counsel for the investigation, wasn't visible on the TV screen but was present, according to reporters in the room. The team of prosecutors on behalf of the Department of Justice included David Harbach — who did most of the talking on behalf of DOJ — Jay Bratt, and Julie Edelstein.

Trump held on to sensitive national-security documents, prosecutors say

This is the second pending criminal case against Trump. In April, the Manhattan district attorney's office brought a 34-count indictment against him, accusing him of illegally falsifying business records with payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Trump sought to keep the porn star silent about the affair she says she had with him before voters went to the polls.

Trump has railed against both prosecutions as politically motivated. Smith was appointed to his special counsel role by Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Trump and his allies have baselessly asserted that the indictment was engineered by President Joe Biden. The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is an elected Democrat.

Smith's highly detailed indictment included photos that appear to show how documents were carelessly stored in Mar-a-Lago, including in a shower. It also included narrative details that explained how he tried to use his lawyers and Nauta to hide the documents from the FBI when they searched for them.

The precise nature of the 31 documents that are the subject of the indictment remains the subject of some mystery. The records contain information about US nuclear programs and "potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack," among other secrets, according to the indictment. Eight documents were considered so sensitive that even their classification markings were redacted from court filings.

The case is set to proceed before US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who issued extraordinary rulings that slowed down the Justice Department's investigation into Trump last year before an appeals court overturned her decisions.

Cannon will have the power to shape how the case moves forward, including whether to schedule a trial ahead of the 2024 election, in which Trump is currently the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

She'll also decide whether to dismiss some or all of the counts before the case goes to trial, decide the scope of the evidence and legal arguments the lawyers are permitted to bring before a jury, and ultimately choose which jurors to seat.

Trump is still building his legal team. Two of the lawyers representing him in the investigation, James Trusty and John Rowley, resigned the day after he was indicted.

This story has been updated.