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Chaos erupted in Miami after a protester jumped in front of former President Donald Trump’s motorcade as he left the federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to the 37 counts against him in connection to his alleged mishandling of national defence information. In an interview with The Independent before the incident took place, the protester identified himself as Domenic Santana. Speaking about why he was at the court, he said: “Hopefully, someday he has to be locked up. He should have been locked up a long, long time ago. He's gotten away with it. He's the master of spin, a graduate from the New York School of Rats and he has a master's degree and he knows how to spin it. He's going to spin it on this one. ‘It's political. It's because I'm running for president that they're accusing me.’” “He has his case made up. He doesn't need lawyers to defend him. He already knows the spin. Before the election, ‘Oh, if I lose it’s because of fraud’. That day he lost – ‘Oh, fraud, fraud fraud’. His Attorney General – ‘There was no fraud’. ‘You're fired,’ the next day. Come on. Enough is enough,” Mr Santana added. Footage from the scene appeared to show Mr Santana being tackled to the ground and arrested. Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Santana told the Sun Sentinel that supporters of Mr Trump “came for me. They were calling me a communist. Trump is a rat who graduated from the school of rats. He should have been locked up a long, long time ago”. Mr Santana is a Cuban-American retiree, according to the Palm Beach Post. He said he came to the court to confront Mr Trump’s “cult-like” following. “These charges are just the beginning of his lies.” On Monday evening, police separated Mr Santana from the crowd following a confrontation with supporters of the former president. Mr Santana, who lives in Miami, showed up at the courthouse the next day in the same old-school prison outfit and carrying his “Lock him up” sign. “He should have been locked up a long time ago,” he reiterated, according to the Miami New Times. Read More Trump indictment — live: Trump pleads not guilty in classified documents case at Miami court arraignment Trump supporters attack Miami’s Republican mayor outside Trump arraignment Clashes break out at Trump arraignment courthouse after ‘suspicious package’ sparks police response Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

For the second time in three months, the man who served as the 45th President of the United States stood before a judge as a defendant in a criminal case that could cost his freedom for a significant portion of his remaining lifespan. Flanked by attorneys Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise, Donald Trump entered a Miami federal courtroom as US Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman formally presented him with a 37-count indictment accusing the former president of illegally retaining national defense documents and other classified materials at his Florida home, and obstructing government efforts to reclaim them. Asked to enter a plea to the charges, Mr Blanche replied on behalf of the twice-impeached and now twice-indicted former president: “Not guilty”. Mr Trump was arraigned alongside his longtime personal aide and now co-defendant Walt Nauta, who served as Mr Trump’s White House valet and followed him to political exile in Florida when he left the White House in January 2021. The former president arrived at the Wilkie Ferguson Jr Federal Courthouse shortly before 2pm ET on 13 June after traveling with a motorcade and police motorcycle escort from his National Doral Hotel. He was not photographed entering the court complex as he surrendered to authorities; the armoured SUV carrying the former president entered through an underground gate typically reserved as a secure entrance for vehicles transporting defendants in law enforcement custody. Cameras, recording devices and laptops are prohibited from the courtroom. Outside the courthouse following Mr Trump’s arrest, one of his attorneys Alina Habba told reporters in brief remarks that the former president remains “defiant” while condemning what Mr Trump and his allies have characterised as a “two-tiered system of justice, where selective treatment is the norm.” “Today is not about President Donald J Trump, who is defiant,” she said. “It is about the destruction of the long-standing American principles that have set this country apart for so long.” Two of the more experienced criminal defence lawyers in his legal team, James Trusty and John Rowley, resigned from Mr Trump’s federal case last week, hours after a Florida grand jury voted to charge him with 37 separate counts stemming from alleged violations of the Espionage Act and other crimes. Another criminal defence attorney who once represented Mr Trump in the documents probe, Evan Corcoran, stepped away from that role in the wake of a court ruling ordering him to give evidence against the former president before a grand jury and turn over his notes and recordings. A judge invoked a rarely used exception to the attorney-client privilege used in cases where an attorney’s advice is found to have been used to commit crimes. Mr Corcoran’s testimony and evidence figured heavily in Mr Trump’s federal indictment, which detailed his reaction after he was served with a subpoena compelling him to return all documents with classification markings in his possession. Mr Blanche, who represented Mr Trump in his criminal case in Manhattan, and Mr Kise, a former Florida solicitor general who joined the former president’s legal team after the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago last summer, are representing him in his federal case. Mr Trump did not pose for a mugshot or be handcuffed after his surrender to authorities as US Marshals and probation officers began pretrial services. He is scheduled to immediately return to his Bedminster, New Jersey club to deliver remarks before a fundraising event. He similarly returned to his Mar-a-Lago property hours after he appeared in Manhattan criminal court in April to face 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. In his remarks from his estate that night, he lambasted District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the judge overseeing the case, as well as the judge’s family members, and continued his narrative of political persecution. This is a developing story Read More Trump arraignment – live: Trump spared handcuffs at Miami court as he rages at ‘saddest’ day in US history How Trump’s second indictment unfolded: A timeline of the investigation into Mar-a-Lago documents Handcuffs, fingerprints or a mugshot? What to expect as Trump faces arraignment in federal court

Senator Lindsey Graham defended himself after a former CIA head called him a "spineless coward" for refusing to condemn Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. Mr Graham said his opposition to Mr Trump's second indictment related to the documents and his beliefs that sensitive materials must be handled properly are not contradictory. "I'm very concerned about mishandling classified information," he told The Independent. "I'm also very concerned about ... equal treatment under the law. Those two things are not inconsistent." His comments come after former CIA director John Brennan called him a "spineless coward" for defending the former president. “That is why I find it so, so disheartening and It makes me angry when I hear people like Lindsey Graham make excuses and apologies for Donald Trump," Mr Brennan said during an appearance on MSNBC. “Those are the words of a spineless coward, quite frankly, who is frightened by Donald Trump and is frightened by those individuals who still cling to an image of Donald Trump as being this very strong leader, which he is not.” Mr Graham defended Mr Trump during an ABC News interview on Sunday, arguing his second indictment would make him "stronger" in his re-election campaign. The senator insisted that Mr Trump's investigation is no different than the Hillary Clinton email scandal — despite their being notable difference between those situations — and argued that the former president had been "overcharged" through the use of the Espionage Act. "Did he do things wrong? Yes, he may have. He will be tried about that. But Hillary Clinton wasn't," he told ABC News's George Stephanopoulos. When Stephanopoulos pressed Mr Graham on the audio recordings of Mr Trump discussing the secret information and admitting he had not declassified it when he was in office, Mr Graham claimed ignorance. "I don't know what happened; I haven't heard the audio," Mr Graham said. "But look at who's been charged under the Espionage Act: Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning -- people who turned over classified information to news organizations ... or provide it to a foreign power. That did not happen here." Each time Mr Graham was confronted with the evidence against Mr Trump, he deflected to Ms Clinton, prompting Stephanopoulos to tell him that she had been fully investigated and that no charges were brought against her. Mr Graham dismissed that explanation saying "yeah right" and "give me a break." No evidence was found that Ms Clinton intended to "communicate classified information on unclassified systems," according to the investigation's findings. That report also noted that Ms Clinton's emails were not marked in a way that would inform her of their classification status. The evidence against Mr Trump includes the previously stated audio recording, but also allegations that he worked to conceal the records from federal authorities after they asked for their return. Both Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence were also found to have sensitive documents in their personal possession, but they cooperated with authorities to return those documents — a key difference between their situations and Mr Trump's. With reporting from Eric Garcia Read More What time is Trump’s arraignment and will it be live-streamed? Donald Trump arrives at federal court to face 37-count indictment in Mar-a-Lago documents case Trump will not be handcuffed or asked to pose for mugshot at Miami arraignment Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Donald Trump is in court in Miami to be arraigned on 37 charges over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, as he becomes the first current or former US president to ever face federal criminal charges. The former president arrived for his arraignment at a federal court in the Southern District of Florida shortly before 2pm ET for a 3pm hearing, where he has vowed to plead not guilty to all charges. “I’ll just say ‘not guilty.’ I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Boston radio show WRKO on Monday. Despite his confidence, The Independent exclusively revealed that Mr Trump was struggling to find attorneys willing to defend him in Florida. Miami officials meanwhile were braced for protests outside the courthouse with Mayor Francis Suarez saying at a press conference that the city is enacting plans to “make sure that everyone has a right to peacefully express themselves and exercise their constitutional rights” in “an obviously peaceful manner”. Several supporters have voiced violent rhetoric online and MAGA loyalists Kari Lake and Laura Loomer, the Proud Boys and at least one Capitol rioter (named Baked Alaska) are expected to descend on Miami in support of the former president. Read More Trump vows to ‘go after’ Biden’s family in bitter Truth Social rant before boarding Miami arraignment jet Trump will face judge in historic court appearance over charges he mishandled secret documents What time is Trump’s arraignment and will it be live-streamed?

Miami Police blocked off a plaza in front of the Miami courthouse where former President Donald Trump was set to be arraigned. The authorities moved members of the public and the media across the street from the court as a suspicious package was investigated. The all-clear was given shortly after 11.30am on Tuesday. According to Nicole Ninsalata of WSVN, a bomb squad responded to a sidewalk outside the courthouse, where a flatscreen TV with yellow wires coming out of the back was spotted. Protesters and supporters of Mr Trump began clashing ahead of the arraignment with video emerging of arguments where police stepped in. As Mr Trump arrived in Florida on Monday night, footage shared on Twitter appeared to show Trump supporters confronting a man holding anti-Trump signs. Police separated a man wearing a prison costume and holding a sign saying “Lock him up” from the crowd following a confrontation with supporters of the former president. Former Trump White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon appeared worried about anti-Trump protesters during his programme on Real America’s Voice, a rightwing broadcaster. “If you’re asking for trouble, you let these two groups get together because the Never Trump, the anti-Trump and Antifa, BLM, are violent people,” he claimed. “And they’re always there to get in people’s faces. They’re always there to try to pick fights. And I’m just an observer here anchoring in Washington DC, but I gotta tell you, I’m not enthusiastic about what I’m seeing down there on the crowd control. I think that we’re just asking for problems and what we don’t want today are problems.” “This thing we want to get in and out of, and I hope the Miami authorities and others do the job that the NYPD does,” he added in reference to Mr Trump’s arraignment earlier this year in a separate case. On Monday, supporters of Mr Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were seen outside the courthouse in a shouting match over Covid-19 vaccines and Mr Trump’s response to the pandemic. This comes after Miami officials claimed that they will have everything under control as Mr Trump appears in court. Speaking at a press conference at Miami police headquarter, Mayor Francis Suarez said the city is enacting plans to “make sure that everyone has a right to peacefully express themselves and exercise their constitutional rights” in “an obviously peaceful manner”. “In our city, we obviously believe in the Constitution and believe that people should have the right to express themselves. But we also believe in law and order. And we know that and we hope that tomorrow will be peaceful. “We encourage people to be peaceful in demonstrating how they feel. And we’re going to have the adequate forces necessary to ensure that,” he said. Mr Suarez, who is rumoured to be planning to enter the 2024 Republican presidential primary himself, declined to criticise the ex-president’s rhetoric and said he has not spoken to Mr Trump to ask him to retract his calls for protest, despite the former president’s history of inciting violence. “I have not spoken to him. I don’t have his phone number,” he said. Mr Suarez appeared to compare the events of January 6 and the potential violence that could ensue on Tuesday to the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in the summer of 2020. He said city and state law enforcement officials handled those protests without incident and called the response to those events “a model for how to deal with those protests in the country”. “We did things not to create unnecessary confrontations. We gave people a space to express themselves without unnecessarily creating confrontations. In that moment, in that particular case, we had a curfew that we implemented. We had a variety of different resources that we used, that I thought were different than other cities in America, and they allowed us to deescalate without creating incidents,” he said. “I have full faith and confidence that our department … will have the right action plan and will have the right resources in place. In the right place to make sure that there are no incidents,” he said. But Mr Suarez repeatedly declined to address concerns about the possibility that the same violent extremist groups that responded to Mr Trump’s call for protests in 2021 would again come to support him on Tuesday. He also told reporters there would be no effort to separate protesters and counterprotesters and said law enforcement would not be erecting any hardened barrier around the courthouse because “that’s what freedom of speech is”. Because the courthouse is a federal facility, Department of Homeland Security personnel there began to take some precautions for potential protests on Monday. Outside the building where Mr Trump will be arraigned, marked police vehicles belonging to the Federal Protective could be seen parked strategically in areas not already rendered inaccessible to cars with concrete bollards and other preexisting vehicle barriers, blocking a path from the street onto courthouse property. Groups of FPS officers, some leading explosive detection dogs, could be seen congregating in areas where shade from trees could shield them from the hot Florida sun. Around 10.30am, other officers began positioning moveable barriers and stretching police tape to cordon off a wide swath of the courthouse lawn from public access in preparation for possible demonstrations by Mr Trump’s supporters, should any heed the twice-impeached, twice-indicted ex-president’s call for protests on the day of his arraignment. One FPS officer who asked not to be identified told The Independent that he and his colleagues were hopeful that the crowd would remain peaceful, but said they were aware that things could go south quickly.“We’re prepared for anything but we’re hoping there won’t be any trouble,” he said. Read More Police monitoring online far-right threats and pro-Trump protests with federal indictment: ‘This is war’ Trump arraignment – live: Miami courthouse hit by security scare as Trump tries out wild new defence With Trump on trial, an outrageous president sets another unwelcome precedent

Donald Trump will be arraigned today on 37 charges over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, as he becomes the first current or former US president to ever face federal criminal charges. The former president will appear for his arraignment at a federal court in the Southern District of Florida at 3pm ET, where he has vowed to plead not guilty to all charges. “I’ll just say ‘not guilty.’ I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Boston radio show WRKO on Monday. Despite his confidence, The Independent exclusively revealed that Mr Trump was struggling to find attorneys willing to defend him in Florida. Miami officials meanwhile are bracing for protests outside the courthouse with Mayor Francis Suarez saying at a press conference that the city is enacting plans to “make sure that everyone has a right to peacefully express themselves and exercise their constitutional rights” in “an obviously peaceful manner”. Several supporters have voiced violent rhetoric online and MAGA loyalists Kari Lake and Laura Loomer, the Proud Boys and at least one Capitol rioter (named Baked Alaska) are expected to descend on Miami in support of the former president. Read More Trump vows to ‘go after’ Biden’s family in bitter Truth Social rant before boarding Miami arraignment jet Trump will face judge in historic court appearance over charges he mishandled secret documents Police monitoring online far-right threats and pro-Trump protests with federal indictment: ‘This is war’

Former president Donald Trump has arrived in Miami ahead of his arraignment on 37 charges over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. The former president flew from Newark Liberty International Airport to Miami International Airport yesterday afternoon and spent the night at his Mar-a-Lago estate – the Florida home where he is accused of hoarding troves of classified papers, including national defence information. Mr Trump will appear for his arraignment in a federal courtroom in downtown Miami this afternoon, before flying straight back to New Jersey where he has announced plans to deliver remarks tonight at his golf club. While Mr Trump gave defiant speeches at two Republican state conventions on Saturday in Georgia and North Carolina, his former attorney general Bill Barr has said that – after reviewing the indictment – he believes Mr Trump is “toast”. “If even half of it is true, then he’s toast,” he said of the 49-page indictment. Mr Trump responded by lashing out at Mr Barr both on Truth Social and during a sprawling interview on Roger Stone’s radio show where he branded the former top prosecutor a “gutless pig”. Read More Trump’s favourability rises in poll despite indictment Jonathan Turley tells Fox News the Trump indictment is ‘extremely damning’ and a ‘hit below the waterline’ Trump, allies escalate attacks on criminal case as history-making court appearance approaches Is Donald Trump going to prison?

Chris Christie was in peak form Monday evening as he laid into former President Donald Trump in his second town hall-style appearance as a presidential candidate. The governor’s performance on CNN was in many ways a repeat of his initial launch event at St Anselm College in New Hampshire a week earlier. But the governor fine-tuned his attacks over the days ahead of his first cable news spot, and came out swinging against the Republican frontrunner. He largely ignored his other GOP rivals as he took questions from voters and moderator Anderson Cooper, while landing every blow he could on his main rival (and former ally). Mr Christie hit his opponent on nearly every topic, from his most recent indictment for the mishandling of presidential records and violations of the Espionage Act to the performance of the Republican Party electorally since 2016, blame for which he laid squarely at the the feet of the de facto GOP leader. “He flew the boxes up to New Jersey for summer vacation. What is this, like, they’re a family member?” Mr Christie vented at one point, referencing recent reporting on the 37-count indictment Mr Trump faces in the Southern District of Florida. “This is vanity run amok, ego run amok,” he continued. More follows... Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Former New Jersey governor and 2024 presidential candidate Chris Christie will appear before Americans on Monday night in a town hall hosted by CNN. Less than a week ago, Mr Christie officially entered the already-packed race for the Republican nomination. He joins former president Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and more. Thus far, the former New Jersey official is polling well behind the rest of the Republican frontrunners, barely cracking one per cent support. The former governor launched his campaign positioning himself as a moderate-conservative alternative to former president Donald Trump, who Mr Christie called a “self-consumed, self-serving, mirror hog.” Mr Christie will likely continue to set himself apart from the former president, who he twice endorsed, in the town hall. It is set to begin at 8pm EST, hosted by Anderson Cooper.

Donald Trump’s supporters and many Republican officials contend that the former president is the target of a politically weaponised justice system that has ignored similar alleged crimes committed by his rivals. “Lock her up” chants directed at Hillary Clinton still dominate GOP rallies. House Republicans have launched committees to investigate the sitting president and his family. But in classified documents cases involving President Joe Biden and former vice president Mike Pence, both men cooperated with federal law enforcement and returned those records. Ms Clinton was not found to have deliberately mishandled classified information or obstruct justice in the recovery of communications. Mr Trump, according to prosecutors, did exactly that. A federal indictment details the alleged coordination among Mr Trump, his aides and attorneys to bring documents to his Mar-a-Lago property and, later, conceal them from law enforcement when US officials sought their return. His alleged refusal and obstruction is at the centre of the 37-count indictment against him. The indictment lays out more than 40 pages of allegations based on witness testimony and recordings allegedly showing how the former president sought to hide and keep classified documents by conspiring with his aides to obstruct an investigation into their recovery, then lied to both the government and his own attorneys about them. He faces 31 counts of willful retention of national defence information in violation of the Espionage Act, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Each count represents a different top-secret document Mr Trump held at his Mar-a-Lago property, months after he left the White House in January 2021. The indictment does not include charges connected to dozens of other documents that he ultimately did return in the course of investigations surrounding the case – underscoring some of the key differences between his prosecution and those involving the former vice presidents. Late last year, a lawyer for Mr Biden discovered a “small number” of classified documents from his time as vice president under then-President Barack Obama during a search of a Washington DC office space. Those documents were returned to the Justice Department. Another batch of documents were discovered at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Federal law enforcement agents found more when they searched the property. In January, US Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel to investigate those documents, which is still ongoing. No charges have been filed. The Justice Department also closed an investigation into Mr Pence earlier this month after the discovery of classified material at his home in Indiana. There were no allegations of obstruction or the willful retention of such documents, and no charges were brought against him. And in Ms Clinton’s case, then-FBI director James Comey said she was “extremely careless” with her handling of sensitive information, but law enforcement officials found no clear evidence that she intentionally obstructed justice or committed any other crimes in connection with the server. He said “no reasonable prosecutor” would have brought a case against her. Those findings stand in stark contrast to the allegations in the indictment against Mr Trump, who is accused of actively concealing documents and even suggesting that a lawyer hide them or falsely state to authorities that all requested records were returned, while hundreds remained at his property. None of the nearly 200 documents that Mr Trump ultimately returned to authorities are connected to the charges against him, suggesting that if he had returned them in the first place, he may not face criminal prosecution. In January of last year, a year after leaving the White House after losing his 2020 re-election bid, Mr Trump gave 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives and Records Administration, as required under the Presidential Records Act. The agency wrote to Mr Trump in May 2021 noting that some documents were missing, noting that there are “certain paper/textual records that we cannot account for.” Around that same time, according to the indictment, Mr Trump directed aides to clear a storage room on the ground floor of Mar-a-Lago. More than 80 boxes were moved there, according to prosecutors. A few months later, he allegedly showed a “plan of attack” document prepared by the US Department of Defense to a group at his Bedminster, New Jersey club. “As president I could have declassified it,” he said, according to a transcript of a recorded conversation in the indictment. “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.” The National Archives received 15 boxes from Mr Trump in January 2022, 14 of which contained classified materials, according to prosecutors. Among them, 67 were marked “confidential,” 92 were marked “secret” and 25 were marked “top secret.” The next month, the agency alerted the US Department of Justice that classified information was discovered in those boxes. It was then that a criminal investigation surrounding the former president started to build – not from the results of the National Archives and its ultimately successful recovery of 15 boxes. A federal grand jury was opened in April of last year. In the weeks and months that followed, Mr Trump’s aide Walt Nauta began moving more than a dozen boxes out of the storage room, according to the indictment. Mr Nauta also is charged in connection with the case. On 3 June of last year, Mr Trump’s then-attorney Christina Bobb falsely certified to federal law enforcement that the former president’s legal team performed a “diligent search” for “any and all responsive documents” at his property, and that no other classified documents were found, according to prosecutors. The Justice Department received 38 documents in that file, including 17 marked “top secret,” 16 labeled “secret” and five others marked as confidential. Meanwhile, Mr Nauta and others loaded several boxes onto a plane that Mr Trump boarded out of his Florida home, according to the indictment. In August, FBI agents performed a search of Mar-a-Lago and discovered more than 100 classified documents among hundreds of government documents and photographs. In the documents outlined in the indictment, at least two of which involved nuclear secrets according to an inventory listed in the indictment, 21 were discovered by FBI agents who searched Mar-a-Lago. Ten others were turned over to federal authorities last June in response to a grand jury subpoena. Others involved intelligence briefings, foreign military activity, communication with foreign leaders, foreign military impacts on US interests, and communications with a foreign leader. According to prosecutors, Mr Trump conspired to conceal documents from a grand jury and federal officials, by suggesting that his attorneys make false statements to authorities, by moving boxes of documents to hide from attorneys, by suggesting that documents be hidden or destroyed, and by falsely certifying that classified documents were produced to authorities “when, in fact, they had not.” Prosecutors are expected to present compelling evidence that the former president knowingly and deliberately misled his attorneys about his retention of sensitive documents He also appears, on a tape, six months after leaving office, saying that a document in his possession was “classified”, “highly confidential” and “secret information” while admitting that he was not able to declassify it, because he was no longer president – undercutting a critical part of his public defence over the last several months. Read More Trump indictment - news: Trump vows revenge as he lands in Miami for arraignment on 37 federal charges Trump, Biden, Pence - who else? Inside the presidential scramble to check for classified documents How Trump’s second indictment unfolded: A timeline of the investigation into Mar-a-Lago documents ‘This is war’: Police monitoring online far-right threats and pro-Trump protests with federal indictment Handcuffs, fingerprints or a mugshot? What to expect as Trump faces arraignment in federal court Aileen Cannon: The judge with Trump’s fate in her hands was appointed by him

The Biden administration on Monday urged states to slow down their purge of Medicaid rolls, citing concerns that large numbers of lower-income people are losing health care coverage due to administrative reasons. The nation's Medicaid rolls swelled during the coronavirus pandemic as states were prohibited from ending people's coverage. But that came to a halt in April, and states now must re-evaluate recipients' eligibility — just as they had been regularly required to do before the pandemic. In some states, about half of those whose Medicaid renewal cases were decided in April or May have lost their coverage, according to data submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and obtained by The Associated Press. The primary cause is what CMS describes as “procedural reasons,” such as the failure to return forms. “I am deeply concerned with the number of people unnecessarily losing coverage, especially those who appear to have lost coverage for avoidable reasons that State Medicaid offices have the power to prevent or mitigate,” Health and Human Services Secretary Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote in a letter Monday to governors. Instead of immediately dropping people who haven't responded by a deadline, federal officials are encouraging state Medicaid agencies to delay procedural terminations for one month while conducting additional targeted outreach to Medicaid recipients. Among other things, they're also encouraging states to allow providers of managed health care plans to help people submit Medicaid renewal forms. Nobody "should lose coverage simply because they changed addresses, didn’t receive a form, or didn’t have enough information about the renewal process,” Becerra said in a statement. States are moving at different paces to conduct Medicaid eligibility determinations. Some haven't dropped anyone from their rolls yet while others already have removed tens of thousands of people. Among 18 states that reported preliminary data to CMS, about 45% of those whose renewals were due in April kept their Medicaid coverage, about 31% lost coverage and about 24% were still being processed. Of those that lost coverage, 4-out-of-5 were for procedural reasons, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In Arkansas, Florida, Idaho and Oklahoma, about half or more of those whose eligibility cases were completed in April or May lost their Medicaid coverage, according data reviewed by the AP. Those figures may appear high because some states frontloaded the process, starting with people already deemed unlikely to remain eligible. CMS officials have specifically highlighted concerns about Arkansas, which has dropped well over 100,000 Medicaid recipients, mostly for not returning renewal forms or requested information. Arkansas officials said they are following a timeline under a 2021 law that requires the state to complete its redeterminations within six months of the end of the public health emergency. They said Medicaid recipients receive multiple notices — as well as texts, emails and phone calls, when possible — before being dropped. Some people probably don't respond because they know they are no longer eligible, the state Department of Human Services said. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has dismissed criticism of the state’s redetermination process, saying Arkansas is merely getting the program back to its pre-pandemic coverage intentions. But health care advocates said it's particularly concerning when states have large numbers of people removed from Medicaid for not responding to re-enrollment notices. "People who are procedurally disenrolled often are not going to realize they’ve lost coverage until they show up for a medical appointment or they go to fill their prescription and are told you no longer have insurance coverage,” said Allie Gardner, a senior research associate at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. __ Associated Press writer Andrew DeMillo contributed from Little Rock, Arkansas. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Speaker McCarthy eyes new commission to tackle nation's debt, but many Democrats are wary Connecticut to adjourn largely bipartisan session in contrast to rancor in other states Missouri governor signs ban on transgender health care, school sports

After a grand jury recommended criminal charges against Donald Trump, federal prosecutors issued a sweeping 37-count indictment charging the former president with obstruction and the unlawful retention of national defense information for allegedly storing dozens of sensitive government documents at his Florida home and refusing to turn them over to federal authorities. The former president’s second indictment follows criminal charges in Manhattan earlier this year for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments in an effort to kill stories about his alleged affairs during the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump turned himself into authorities in New York City on 4 April and sat for a brief arraignment hearing in criminal district court before returning to his Mar-a-Lago home to deliver a speech to supporters. Law enforcement agencies are now preparing for his arrival in Miami, where he will make a first appearance in federal court to formally hear the charges against him in his first-ever federal case. The case – stemming from the US Department of Justice special counsel investigation into classified documents, and whether he intentionally obstructed the government’s efforts to return them – is separate from the Justice Department’s probe into Mr Trump’s role in the events surrounding January 6 and a Georgia prosecutor’s investigation into his attempts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election in that state. Here, we explain what the day could look like: Where and when is Trump going to court? There are 94 district courts around the US, and generally a defendant will be tried in the district where the crimes are alleged to have been committed. Mr Trump will travel to a federal court in the Southern District of Florida, the jurisdiction for his Mar-a-Lago property. Mr Trump flew by private plane from his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey on 12 June. He will stay overnight at his Trump National Doral resort in Miami before his makes his appearance at the federal courthouse, roughly 12 miles from the hotel. His arraignment at the Wilkie D Ferguson Jr United States Courthouse in Miami is scheduled for 3pm ET on 13 June. Will Trump be handcuffed? Probably not. He will surrender to the authorities, go through processing, and then enter the courtroom for his first appearance before the judge. It is unlikely that he will be in handcuffs for any part of that process. What about a mugshot? That is also unlikely. US Secret Service officers will guide Mr Trump to the courthouse, where US Marshals and probation officers will begin pretrial services, including electronic fingerprinting and formal booking. What will happen during the hearing? Mr Trump will be formally presented with the charges against him and be informed of his rights. He may also enter a plea; he is expected to plead “not guilty” based on the months-long claims that the investigations against him are a politically motivated “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” And what happens after? There is a theoretical possibility that Mr Trump will remain in custody after his arraignment, but it is highly unlikely a judge would order this, and he is not considered a flight risk. He was released on his own recognizance following his arraignment in a Manhattan criminal court in April. The former president is scheduled to return to his Bedminster club to deliver remarks before a fundraising event. He similarly returned to his Mar-a-Lago property hours after he appeared in Manhattan criminal court in April, where he lambasted District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the judge overseeing the case, as well as the judge’s family members. Who is on Trump’s legal team? Following news of the indictment, two lawyers who represented Mr Trump in the months leading up to the charges resigned from his legal team over his handling of classified documents quit working for him on Friday morning. The attorneys, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, issued a joint statement stating that it was the “logical moment for us to step aside” and let other attorneys handle the case. Neither attorney wil represent Mr Trump in the other federal investigation stemming from Mr Trump’s alleged interference in Georgia. Todd Blanche, who represented Mr Trump in his Manhattan criminal case, will accompany Mr Trump in his federal case; a notice from Judge Cannon reminded him and others involved with the case that they are not members of the Southern District of Florida Bar. Another attorney, Christopher Kise, who is licenced in Florida, also is expected to accompany Mr Trump. Who is the judge? US District Judge Aileen Cannon – who was appointed by the former president in 2020 and previously ruled in his legal team’s favour in a series of court decisions surrounding the investigation – will handle the case. Last year, she appointed a “special master” to review materials seized by federal law enforcement and restricted the FBI from using those documents as part of the investigation until she completed a review, effectively freezing the US Department of Justice probe. That order was ultimately thrown out entirely by a federal appeals court, which roundly criticised her decision. If she does not recuse herself from the case and she remains a trial judge, she could play a potentially critical role in the case’s development, from setting a trial date to overseeing jury selection, the admission of certain evidence, and sentencing, if there is a conviction. Magistrate Judge John Goodman will oversee Mr Trump’s arraignment. The judge then will have the option to remand Mr Trump on bail or release him on his own recognizance before adjourning for a future date. Will there be a trial? Following a plea, the federal judge will adjourn the case and allow attorneys an opportunity to review the indictment and make motions regarding the case. It is expected that Mr Trump’s legal team will want the case dismissed. The district is known as a “rocket docket” court, where judges adhere to a speedy trial schedule that processes case to trial within 70 days. Special counsel Jack Smith also said prosecutors will push for a speedy trial “consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused,” he said during brief public remarks announcing the indictment. “It’s very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” he said. How will this impact his presidential campaign? Mr Trump remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, and he has insisted that he will remain in the race regardless of any outcome in the criminal cases against hime. He has relied on the investigations and indictments to raise money for his campaign, which netted millions of dollars in the days after his charges were announced in his New York case. But the timeframe for the federal investigation – and, potentially, other pending cases that could result in criminal charges this year – could complicate his campaign ambitions. A first debate among Republican candidates is set for 23 August. A trial for the New York attorney general lawsuit targeting Mr Trump, his adult children and his business is slated to begin in October. And he is scheduled to return to Manhattan Criminal Court on 25 March – days after voting begins in primary states. 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