Former President Donald Trump has entered a plea of not guilty in the extensive Fulton County election interference case, as indicated by a recent court filing.
Originally set to appear for arraignment in person on Wednesday, Trump leveraged Georgia law, which permits defendants to waive in-person appearances and submit their formal pleas through court documents.
This marks Trump’s fourth instance of pleading not guilty to criminal charges post-presidency. The current case charges him with racketeering for his alleged involvement in disrupting the 2020 presidential election outcome in Georgia.
Likewise, some of Trump’s co-defendants, including Sidney Powell and Trevian Kutti, have also chosen to waive in-court appearances and have submitted not guilty pleas. Defendants who opt for a non-waiver
appearance are expected to attend court on September 6 as per the schedule.
Although no official trial date has been set in Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, urged the overseeing judge to schedule a trial for all 19 defendants, targeting October 23, 2023.
Trump’s legal team expressed their opposition to the proposed date and indicated the likelihood of pre-trial disputes that could extend the proceedings. Notably, co-defendants like former chief of staff Mark Meadows have attempted to transfer their cases from Georgia state court to federal court, a strategic move that would potentially delay the process.
Facing over a dozen charges, some linked to falsified electors attempting to assert Trump’s victory in Georgia during the 2020 election, Trump surrendered last week. He agreed to a $200,000 bond and additional release conditions, which prohibit him from using social media to target co-defendants and witnesses involved in the case.
Apart from this case, Trump is also indicted in three other instances: one involving a hush-money payment to an adult-film star in 2016 in Manhattan, another related to mishandling classified national defense documents, and a third tied to federal investigations surrounding efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Credit: CNN
