NEW YORK, June 13. /TASS/. Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on charges related to mishandling of classified documents, CNN reported on Tuesday.

"Not guilty," Trump said, answering to a question from the judge.

A guilty plea would have paved a way to a plea deal with the prosecution, allowing a simplified trial and a milder possible sentence. Since Trump pleaded not guilty, the case will be heard in accordance with the regular procedure.

According to the indictment, uploaded to the electronic database of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on June 9, Trump and his aide Walt Nauta were charged with 38 counts related to mishandling of classified documents. The indictment says that during last year’s search at Trump’s estate in Florida, FBI agents seized 102 documents with classification markings: 27 of them were stored in his office and 75 were in the storage. Of those documents, 17 were marked as ‘top secret.’.