Former US President Donald Trump entered a plea of not guilty to charges accusing him of involvement in criminal conspiracies to overturn the 2020 presidential election in an attempt to keep Joe Biden from assuming power.
On August 3rd, Trump attended an in-person arraignment at a Washington DC court, which lasted approximately thirty minutes. Before US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, Trump declared, “Not guilty.”
The charges stem from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to reverse the election leading up to January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to disrupt Congress from counting the electoral college votes to formalize Joe Biden’s victory.
The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.
Trump was released without travel restrictions, with the condition that he does not discuss the case with any witnesses unless accompanied by his lawyers.
After the hearing, Trump expressed his views to reporters at Reagan National Airport in Virginia, stating, “This is a very sad day for America.” He added that he believes the charges are a persecution of a political opponent and should not have occurred in the US.
Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya has scheduled the next hearing in the case for August 28 at 10 am (local time), where US District Judge Tanya Chutkan will preside over the election subversion case. During the court proceedings, Prosecutor Thomas Windom requested a speedy trial, but Trump’s lawyer John Lauro objected, citing the “massive” amount of discovery expected from Smith’s team.
Prosecutor Thomas Windom expressed the government’s availability for all potential hearing days offered by the magistrate judge but preferred the earliest option. The Trump team requested August 28, the latest of the three options. Judge Upadhyaya informed Trump that if he couldn’t attend due to his schedule, Judge Chutkan was willing to waive his appearance.
Judge Upadhyaya instructed Smith’s office to submit a schedule estimation for setting a trial date within seven days, with the defense given five days to respond after that.
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