Trump calls indictment 'evil and heinous abuse of power'

Former US president Donald Trump has dismissed his indictment for mishandling government secrets as a "heinous abuse of power" as he addressed supporters after pleading "not guilty" to dozens of criminal felony counts.

"Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country. Very sad thing to watch," Trump said late on Tuesday after returning from his arraignment hearing in Miami to his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Trump said he had every right "to have these documents" and alleged "sham indictment" put forward by Biden administration included "staged" photographs of boxes at his Florida estate.

He said the original cardboard boxes stacked in rooms across his Mar-a-Lago estate contained personal belongings, including "shirts, shoes and memorabilia."

Trump characterised the federal charges against him as "election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election."

He aired his grievances to hundreds of supporters at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.

Previewing a possible legal defence, Trump said he had a right to go through boxes and separate personal records from government documents.

He also said he had not had a chance to review all the materials transferred from the White House before FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago residence last year.

Trump called the case against him "one of the most outrageous and vicious legal theories ever put forward in an American court of law" and compared his own actions to those of other former senior officials.

He called special counsel Jack Smith a "thug" who does "political hit jobs" and said, "This day will go down in infamy."

'Not guilty' plea

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty in Miami federal court to criminal charges that he unlawfully kept national security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them.

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.