'NOT GUILTY': Trump Enters Plea in Georgia Election Case, Waives Arraignment

Former President and 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has entered a plea of ‘Not Guilty’ for his election interference charges in Georgia; he’s also waived his arraignment.

BREAKING: Trump pleads not guilty to election charges in Georgia, waives arraignment. pic.twitter.com/AmtSHnzzF9

— AlphaFo𝕏 (@Alphafox78) August 31, 2023

From Newsmax:

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set arraignment hearings for Trump and the 18 others charged in the case for Sept. 6. A court filing waiving arraignment means Trump won’t have to show up.

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.

BREAKING: Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty and waived arraignment in the case accusing him and others of trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. That means he won’t have to show up for a hearing that a judge had set for next week. https://t.co/nY1JXUjItD

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 31, 2023