Attorneys entered a plea of not guilty on behalf the former president Trump in federal court, in Washington, D.C., regarding charges in special counsel Jack Smith’s new indictment, after the Supreme Court ruled that a President is immune from prosecution due to official acts performed in office.
Trump didn’t appear in court on Thursday, but during the status hearing held before U.S. district judge Tanya Chutkan, his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty.
A court document states that Trump entered a not-guilty plea. Trump waived his right of presence at his arraignment in the document filed on Tuesday.
The document states: “I authorize my lawyers to enter on my behalf a not guilty plea to every count in the superseding Indictment (Doc. The document states: “226.” “I also state that I received a copy and have reviewed it with my attorney.”
The case relates to Trump’s alleged attempts to reverse the results of the presidential election in 2020. Smith indicted the former president last week and filed revised criminal charges. Smith alleges that Trump pressured Pence, former Vice President, to reject legitimate electoral ballots, as well as mounting fake electors to testify to Trump’s election victory.
The new indictment retains the criminal charges but narrows down and reframes allegations against the Republican Presidential nominee following a Supreme Court decision that granted broad immunity to former presidents.
In particular, the indictment was changed to remove accusations involving the Department of Justice and other government officials. The indictment clarifies Trump’s position as a presidential candidate and makes clear allegations about his conversations with Vice President Pence when he was president of the Senate.
The new indictment eliminates a section from the previous indictment which accused Trump of trying to use the Justice Department to reverse his loss in 2020. In a recent 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump is immune from prosecution for acts committed in his official capacity at the White House.
Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to obstruct a proceeding official, obstruction and attempted obstruction, and conspiracy against rights. Trump has not pleaded guilty to these charges.
Smith claims that Trump was involved in an attempt to gather fake electors to testify that Trump won in states that Biden won and that Trump pressed Pence to reject valid electoral votes.
The office of the special counsel said that the indictment was filed in federal courts in Washington by a grand jury that had never heard any evidence before. The new grand jury only heard the new information.
According to sources familiar with the matter, discussions regarding the superseding of the indictment are unlikely to speed up the proceedings and there is little chance that the trial will be held before the November elections.
