FORMER United States President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty in a Washington DC court to conspiring to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
During a short arraignment, he spoke softly to confirm his not-guilty plea, name and age, and that he was not under the influence of any substances.
He later told reporters the case was “persecution of a political opponent”.
It marks the former president’s third appearance in four months as a criminal defendant.
Mr Trump entered through a backdoor of the courthouse on Thursday afternoon in the centre of the nation’s capital, just yards from the scene of the US Capitol riot that is central to the prosecution’s case.
About 1,000 defendants charged with participating in the storming of Congress on 6 January 2021 have appeared in the same court building.
The former president seemed to exchange glances across the court with Jack Smith, the special counsel leading the investigation.
Mr Trump was seen twiddling his thumbs as he sat waiting for the hearing to begin, and he shook his head as the clerk read out the case number.
His not-guilty plea covered the four charges in this latest indictment:
• conspiracy to defraud the US
• conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
• obstruction of an official proceeding
• conspiracy against the rights of citizens
The judge told the former president not to communicate about the facts of the case.
She warned him that failure to comply could result in an arrest warrant, revoked release conditions and contempt of court charges.
Prosecutors told the hearing the case would benefit from a speedy trial.
But Trump defence attorney John Lauro said they would need more time to prepare. He said the prosecution’s timeline was “somewhat absurd” given that the investigation itself had taken three years.
The allegations laid out on Tuesday in an indictment, or charge sheet, include a count of “conspiracy to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function through dishonesty, fraud and deceit”.
Mr Trump lost the 2020 election to his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, but he refused to concede and mounted weeks of challenges across several US states.
He is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican White House nomination and may face a rematch with Mr Biden.
Speaking to reporters before flying home to New Jersey in his private plane, Mr Trump said his arraignment was a “very sad day for America”.
– BBC
