Former United States President Donald Trump pleads not guilty to election interference charges during the arraignment of his 2020 Georgia election case, where he is accused of trying to overturn the results of his loss against Joe Biden.
The Republican businessman appeared at his arraignment in a federal courthouse in Washington on Thursday. The situation comes after a grand jury indicted the former president on four felony counts, which include conspiracy to defraud the nation, that Special Counsel Jack Smith brought.
Trump Pleads Not Guilty
More than 110 people who attended Trump's arraignment were screened under heightened security measures. They were seated inside a packed second-floor courtroom for the Republican businessman's hearing. They included several federal judges who have presided over Jan. 6 cases.
Among these were Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Judges Amy Berman Jackson and Randolph Moss. They could be seen seated in the back row of the courtroom gallery, as per the Washington Post.
The former president and his attorneys and security detail entered the courtroom through the back door at around 3:51 p.m. Defense attorney John F. Lauro was responsible for arguing for Trump and was seated at the front of the defense table. The Republican businessman was seated between Lauro and defense attorney Todd Blanche in the middle.
When the former president entered the room, he glanced at Smith, who was at the prosecution's side of the room. However, Trump did not look again at the special counsel throughout the hearing. Smith occasionally glanced in the former president's direction as he chatted with a team member.
The defendant spent several quiet minutes before he could be heard whispering with his attorneys and discussing a document placed in front of them on the defense table. The former president could be seen with a somber expression during the proceedings and only gave brief answers when asked by Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya.
A Series of Criminal Indictments
The Georgia election case is Trump's third criminal indictment and joins the hush money payment controversy in New York and accusations that he mishandled classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to Aljazeera.
Trump's legal challenges come as he is the frontrunner in the GOP presidential nomination race for the 2024 season. He has also denied all wrongdoings and described the indictments as attempts to derail his campaign for the presidency.
However, the latest indictment could become the former president's biggest challenge yet, as experts argued it marks the most significant of the three criminal indictments. One also called it "probably the most significant legal case in the history of the United States.
During the hearing, the judge warned Trump not to speak about the case with other witnesses and then informed him that he would not be required to appear personally during his next court date. The latter was scheduled for Aug. 28, presiding over by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, known for handing out strict sentences against Jan. 6 insurrectionists, said Huffpost.
