CNN
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Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to Fulton County election interference charges. Filed in a new court.
Trump was scheduled to appear in person on Wednesday. Georgia law allows criminal defendants to waive their personal appearance and enter a formal plea through a court filing.
And so does Trump A judge asked to dismiss his case from his co-defendants who want speedy trial. Trump’s lawyer says he did not have “sufficient time” to prepare his case for trial by October 23, 2023, and says that forcing that trial date would “violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law.”
His trial marks the fourth time Trump has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges since leaving office. In this case, Trump has been accused of fraud in efforts to inflate the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Several of the former president’s co-defendants, including Sidney Powell and Trevian Kutty, have also waived court appearances. Defendants who did not waive their appearance will appear in court as scheduled on September 6.
Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis, a Democrat, asked the judge overseeing the case last week to schedule an Oct. 23 trial for all 19 defendants.
In response, Trump’s attorneys said they would oppose the proposed date and preview the possibility of pre-trial disputes. Several co-defendants, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, have sought to transfer their cases from Georgia state court to federal court, a more favorable legal venue that would have the effect of delaying the action.
Trump faces a dozen charges, some of which relate to efforts to induce fake voters to falsely claim the then-president had won Georgia in 2020. He surrendered last week and agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions. Social media targeting co-defendants and witnesses in the case.
He has also been charged in three other cases: one related to payments to an adult film star in Manhattan in 2016, another related to mishandling classified national security documents and a third related to efforts to subvert a federal investigation. 2020 election.
This story has been updated with additional updates.
