Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges in a revised indictment brought by federal prosecutors, accusing him of attempting to overturn the 2020 election. The plea was entered through his legal team during a status hearing at a Washington federal courthouse. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan presided over the hearing and did not set a trial date at this time.
The new indictment includes the same four felony counts as the original indictment: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights, and obstruction of an official proceeding. Special counsel Jack Smith argued that these allegations are not covered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and that the case should proceed to trial.
The revised indictment came after a Supreme Court ruling in July stating that presidents should be immune from prosecution for their official acts. Smith’s indictment claims that Trump acted in his private capacity when engaging in the alleged illegal activity.
Judge Chutkan expressed her belief that immunity claims could halt these proceedings and stated it would be futile to schedule a trial date at this time. She also made it clear that she would not allow considerations of future elections to impact the case’s schedule.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers disagree on how to proceed following the Supreme Court’s narrowing of prosecution scope. Trump’s attorney John Lauro argued for outright dismissal based on this opinion, but Judge Chutkan rejected this position.
This case is one of two federal prosecutions against Trump; another case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate was dismissed in July by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon due to concerns about Smith’s appointment as special counsel being unlawful. Smith’s team has appealed this ruling, while Trump’s lawyers plan to request dismissal of the election case on similar grounds.
Please note: The Associated Press contributed information for this report.