Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he sought to overturn Georgia's election results in 2020 and is seeking to sever his case from other defendants, according to new court filings Thursday.
Trump waived his formal arraignment, which was set for next week, and entered a not guilty plea to the 13 charges against him. Under Georgia state law, defendants can waive an in-person arraignment and enter a plea via court filings.
"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," the document Trump signed reads.
The decision to skip an in-person appearance averts the dramatic arraignments that have accompanied the three other criminal cases Trump faces, in which the Republican former president has been forced amid tight security into a courtroom and entered “not guilty” pleas before crowds of spectators. Georgia courts have fairly permissive rules on news cameras in the courtroom, and this step means Trump won't have to enter a plea on television.
An attorney for Trump also asked McAfee on Thursday to separate his case from those of defendants who have asked for an expedited trial that is scheduled to start on Oct. 23. Giving the former president less than two months to prepare a defense against a 98-page indictment would “violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law,” attorney Steve Sadow said in a court filing.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said she wants all of the defendants tried together, and she has asked the judge to set an Oct. 23 trial date for everyone.
The motion adds to the pre-trial legal jousting that has dominated the two weeks since the indictment was brought, underscoring the complexities inherent in attempting to bring 19 defendants to trial at once and foreshadowing the delays ahead as judges sift through competing arguments from the defendants.
The former president and several of his top allies were accused of creating a "criminal enterprise" to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's win in the state in the last presidential election.
Trump and 18 others were charged earlier this month in a sweeping 98-page, 41-count indictment, and were booked at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta last week. The former president himself faces 13 felony charges, including violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and numerous conspiracy charges.
Several other people charged in the indictment had already waived arraignment in filings with the court, saving them a trip to the courthouse in downtown Atlanta. Trump previously traveled to Georgia on Aug. 24 to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail, where he became the first former president to have a mug shot taken.
The case, filed under Georgia’s RICO Act, is sprawling, and the logistics of bringing it to trial are likely to be complicated. Legal maneuvering in the case has already begun.
Some of the others charged are trying to move their cases to federal court. A judge on Monday heard arguments on such a request by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, but the judge did not immediately rule.
Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has criticized the cases against him as part of a politically motivated attempt to keep him from winning back the White House.