He former United States President Donald Trump, favorite to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential elections, He pleaded not guilty Thursday to “conspiracy” for supposedly trying to reverse the 2020 Election Result, in which he lost to the current president, Democrat Joe Biden.
He did it before the investigating judge Moxila Upadhyaya, of the federal court of Washington, who was in charge of reading Trump the cfour charges against him: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
The former president is accused of the events that occurred between the elections of November 3, 2020 and after January 6, 2021, when a mob of his followers stormed the Capitol when a session of the two houses of Congress was being held to ratify the victory of Joe Biden, his opponent.
In the 45-page text revealed Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith accused Trump of undermining the foundations of American democracy by trying to alter the vote count in the presidential elections, an unprecedented and especially serious accusation given that at that time Trump was president in office.
(Also read: Donald Trump: five keys to the case for the 2020 elections and the assault on the Capitol)
The 77-year-old former president arrived in Washington for arraignment Thursday from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He landed at Ronald Reagan Airport aboard his personal plane, Trump Force One, and then moved to the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse just after 3:00 p.m.
His appearance occurred amid great media expectation and a strong police presence. Her trip to Washington, in fact, was broadcast live on television. Outside the court, Trump was received by some protesters and onlookers who did not want to miss the process. “Presidents are not kings,” read one sign.
(Also: Why Donald Trump can stay on the presidential campaign trail, even if he’s convicted?)
Before the hearing, the former president was prosecuted by the United States Marshals Service, which took his fingerprints and his personal information, although a mugshot was not taken of him. Once in the courtroom, the magistrate read the charges and reminded the Republican of the penalty to which he is exposed: for the first of the accusations he could receive a maximum sentence of five years in prison, for the second and third twenty years. of prison, respectively, and for the fourth, ten years.
“From charges one to four, how does Mr. Trump declare himself?” Said the judge, according to the journalists who were inside the room, to which the former president raised his head and replied: “Not guilty”.
At the end of the session, which lasted less than 30 minutes, the magistrate agreed to release the former president after setting the conditions for his release, which include the prohibition to speak with anyone identified as a witness except through his lawyers.
Upadhyaya also set the next hearing for August 28, which means it will be just days after the Republican primary candidates debate. Although Trump will not have to appear, it is expected that in this new judicial hearing District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has already ruled against him in one case in 2021, set the trial date.
She will be in charge of presiding over the proceedings of the case from now on and will have to navigate between Trump’s busy judicial calendar and the demands of his 2024 presidential campaign, which calls for the trials to take place after the electoral battle in the United States ends. .
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Trump denounces judicial persecution
This is Trump’s third criminal indictment, that this year he was also accused of accounting fraud due to the payment of money to a porn actress to buy his silence and to have endangered national security with the negligent handling of confidential documents.
However, both accusations correspond to a period before and after his mandate, so this new accusation aggravates the situation, by accusing him of having used his power as president to reverse the electoral result.
(Keep reading: Donald Trump: the serious crimes in his attempt to reverse the 2020 election result)
But the truth is that Trump does not seem to be scared of the new charges against him and maintains that he is the victim of persecution by the Biden government. “This is the persecution of the person who leads the Republican primaries by very substantial numbers and leads (against President Joe) Biden by a lot,” he said Thursday before leaving Washington after the appearance.
“So if you can’t beat it, you go after it or prosecute it,” he added.
After being indicted for the third time, former President Trump says that this is a “very sad day for the United States” and that it is a “persecution of a political opponent”, because he leads the polls. “If you can’t beat him, prosecute him,” he finishes.pic.twitter.com/NJygJaKZgU
— Dori Toribio (@DoriToribio) August 3, 2023
The Republican had already accused Joe Biden, with whom he could meet again at the polls next year, on his Truth Social platform hours before, of having ordered the Department of Justice to attribute to him “as many crimes as can be invented” and of “unprecedented instrumentalization of Justice.”
Trump was also defiant, saying, “I need one more indictment to guarantee my election!” in 2024.
The impact of the new indictment on his candidacy is unknown at this time. for despite his legal entanglements, Trump has the loyalty of a broad section of his party and maintains a substantial lead in the polls for the Republican nomination, far ahead of his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. .
(In other news: Donald Trump continues to sweep Republicans despite his legal troubles)
According to the most recent survey of The New York Times, Trump stands out as the great favorite with 54 percent support, while the governor is left with only 17 percent.
(Also read: Will Trump withdraw from the presidential race if he is convicted? Former president responds)
In any case, the trial could coincide with the 2024 presidential campaign, and perhaps with Trump already as a candidate. Although this may not be his last judicial headache, as the Georgia prosecutor’s office is also investigating whether he illegally tried to change the result of the 2020 elections in this southern state.
For now, nothing in Article II of the US Constitution, which sets out the qualifications for the presidency, prevents Trump from running for or taking office while he faces the current charges against him.
ANGIE RUIZ HURTADO
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With agencies
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