1-9-2023 (WASHINGTON) Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to a Georgia criminal indictment, which accuses him of attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He has also requested to be tried separately from some of his 18 co-defendants.
Trump was indicted in Fulton County in August on 13 felony counts, including racketeering. The charges allege that he pressured state officials to reverse his 2020 election loss in Georgia and established a fake slate of electors to undermine the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
In a court filing in Fulton County Superior Court, Trump waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of NOT GUILTY to the indictment.
This means that Trump, who is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, will not physically appear in an Atlanta court for the charges next week.
Additionally, Trump’s legal team has asked the judge to separate his case from some co-defendants who have requested a speedy trial. This would result in a different trial schedule from that of one of his co-defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, whose trial is set to commence on October 23. Trump’s lawyers argued that they needed more time to prepare for Chesebro’s trial.
Prosecutors in Fulton County are pushing for an October start to the trial. Several of Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia, including attorney Sidney Powell, Trevian Kutti, and Ray Smith, have also waived formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty.
Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer for Trump who challenged the 2020 election results, pleaded not guilty as well and chose not to appear in person in court. She is charged with racketeering and pressuring state officials to violate their oaths.
The 98-page Georgia indictment, filed in mid-August, charges Trump and 18 other defendants with a total of 41 criminal counts.
This marks Trump’s fourth indictment. He faces a New York state trial in March involving a hush money payment to a porn star and a federal trial in May in Florida for allegedly mishandling federal classified documents. Another indictment, in federal court in Washington, accuses him of illegally seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Trump is scheduled to stand trial in March 2024 in the Washington case, one day before Republican voters in over a dozen US states decide whether to nominate him for a chance to return to the White House. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all criminal cases, and it appears he could spend much of the next year in court while simultaneously campaigning for the White House.
