Extract from ABC News
Former US president Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to a wide-ranging Georgia criminal indictment related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, according to a court filing.
Key points:
- The plea means Donald Trump will not appear in person in court next week to face the charges
- Mr Trump's lawyers asked the judge to try him separately from some of his co-defendants who sought a speedy trial in the case
- Mr Trump criticised the cases against him as part of a politically motivated attempt to keep him from winning back the White House
"As evidenced by my signature below, I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the Indictment in this case," Mr Trump said in the court filing made in the Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set September 6 arraignment hearings for Mr Trump and the 18 others charged in the case.
The plea means Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, will not appear in person in Fulton County Court in Atlanta next week to face the charges.
Mr Trump's lawyers also asked the judge to sever his case from some of his co-defendants who have sought a speedy trial in the case.
This would put Mr Trump's case on a different schedule from that of his co-defendant, Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer for Mr Trump's 2020 campaign, who is set to go to trial in October.
Mr Trump's lawyers argued they did not have sufficient time to prepare for the October trial date set for Chesebro.
An indictment accuses Mr Trump of 13 felony counts, including racketeering, for pressuring state officials to reverse his 2020 election loss and allegedly setting up a fake slate of electors to undermine the congressional certification of Democratic President Joe Biden's victory.
The latest charges mark Mr Trump's fourth indictment since launching his campaign for re-election as president.
Fulton County prosecutors seek an October start to the trial.
Some of Mr Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, including attorney Sidney Powell, Trevian Kutti and Ray Smith, have also waived formal arraignment and entered not guilty pleas.
The 98-page Georgia indictment filed in mid-August charges Mr Trump and 18 other defendants with a total of 41 criminal counts.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty in all criminal cases and could spend much of next year in court, even as he campaigns to retake the White House.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the cases against him as part of a politically motivated attempt to keep him from winning back the White House.
Reuters/AP
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