Trump to speak in Georgia in first appearance since indictment
CBS News Former President Donald Trump on Saturday will make his first public appearance since he was indicted in federal court, taking the stage in Columbus, Georgia, for the state's GOP convention.
The former president has insisted he is "innocent" and posted on Truth Social that he will plead not guilty at his scheduled arraignment Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami. The federal charges against the former president stem from the investigation into his handling of sensitive government documents after he left the White House.
The Justice Department alleges Trump "endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal retention of classified documents," and charged Trump with 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents, as well as one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, and other related charges.
Trump, who is still the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, was already scheduled to speak to the Georgia GOP convention before he broke the news of his federal indictment. But the indictment news is sure to be a fixture in Trump's Saturday afternoon address. The former president, not known for sticking to a teleprompter, has been railing against the Biden administration on social media, calling the documents investigation and related charges a "hoax."
