Donald Trump arrested: Former president signs off on bond ‘special condition’
Kaelan Deese
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Former President Donald Trump put his iconic signature on a court bond document Tuesday where he agreed to a “special condition” to stay silent about “the facts of the case” against him.
Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal criminal charges that he illegally kept national security records when he left office and lied to officials who sought to retrieve them. During his initial court appearance, Trump signed off on his appearance bond form, according to a Wednesday filing in his case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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Trump was permitted to leave court without conditions or travel restrictions and no cash bond was required. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, who presided over the former president’s historic arraignment, ruled he was not allowed to communicate with potential witnesses in the case.
The special condition checked off on the six-page bond form is listed as follows: “Special Condition- Fact Witnesses on the list provided by the Government- No Communication about the facts of the case, except through counsel.”
The government only requested two other conditions: that Trump will not commit any new state, federal, or local criminal offenses, and that Trump will appear in court on dates where he is required.
Trump’s aid Walt Nauta, who is also charged in the case, appeared on Tuesday with Trump but will not need to enter a plea until June 27 because he does not have a local lawyer. Nauta was also released without needing to post bond and was ordered not to talk to other witnesses.
Goodman said in court Tuesday that Trump and Nauta could still talk to each other about topics unrelated to the criminal investigation, but that discussions about the case would need to go through their respective attorneys.
“There will be no communication about the case with fact witnesses who are on a list provided by the government,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman told Trump.
Nauta allegedly moved boxes at Mar-a-Lago which contained government records Trump kept in his possession after leaving the Oval Office in 2021.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 31 counts for the willful retention of national defense information, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, one count for a scheme to conceal, and one count related to alleged false statements.
While Goodman presided over the arraignment Tuesday, the case will be handled by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, an appointee of the former president who previously gave Trump a small win in September 2022 by appointing a special master to review the documents seized by the FBI during a raid at Mar-a-Lago one month before.
Shortly after Trump entered the courtroom, Goodman announced he would be issuing a “Brady order,” meaning a court order requiring the government to provide Trump and Nauta with exculpatory evidence under the Supreme Court’s decision in Brady v. Maryland.
Federal prosecutors will likely begin to hand over evidence to Trump’s lawyers, which could include correspondence between his attorneys, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, and prosecutors who sought the return of government documents.
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The special counsel that brought the case against Trump, Jack Smith, was inside the courtroom Tuesday but did not play a substantial role during the hearing. Smith has vowed a “speedy trial” for the former president, though it could take up to a year or more before a trial takes place.
Meanwhile, a separate prong of Smith’s investigation, pertaining to allegations related to Trump’s involvement in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, is still moving ahead.