Trump Denies Federal Accusations of Attempting to Subvert the 2020 Election

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Former president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal charges of trying to reverse the 2020 election results, addressing for the first time accusations that he masterminded a bold and unsuccessful endeavor to impede the smooth transition of presidential power.

Trump stood before a magistrate judge in Washington’s federal courthouse two days following his indictment by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on four felony counts. The allegations assert that Trump aimed to override the voters’ decision and reverse his electoral defeat in the days leading up to January 6, 2021, when his supporters violently breached the U.S. Capitol, resulting in a brutal confrontation with law enforcement.

Trump, who is currently leading the Republican presidential primary race for 2024, faces charges such as conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States and obstruction of Congress’ certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win. The trial proceedings will take place a stone’s throw away from the Capitol, in a courthouse where over a thousand Capitol rioters have been prosecuted.

Asserting his innocence, Trump, through his legal team, has branded the recent charges as a violation of his right to free speech. The case adds to the growing list of legal challenges for the former president, coming shortly after his not guilty plea to numerous federal felony charges of illegally storing classified documents and obstructing government attempts to reclaim them.

Smith himself was present in the courtroom, sitting directly behind the prosecution team. Three police officers who defended the Capitol that day were also spotted entering the courthouse.

The indictment issued by special counsel Jack Smith levels four felony charges against Trump, associated with his attempts to reverse his presidential defeat, including conspiracy to defraud the federal government and obstruct an official proceeding. These charges may result in a lengthy prison term if a conviction is secured.

In this case, Trump is the sole person charged, although the prosecution referred to six unidentified co-conspirators, primarily lawyers, with whom he is said to have conspired, including in a plan to employ false electors in seven key states that Biden won, to deliver fraudulent certificates to the federal government.

The indictment details how Trump, with his Republican allies, in what Smith termed an assault on a “fundamental operation of the U.S. government,” consistently spread misinformation about the election results in the two months following his defeat, and pressured Vice President Mike Pence, along with state election officials, to take steps to help him retain power.

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This is the third criminal charge against Trump in less than half a year.

Trump faced charges in New York for falsifying business documents related to a silence-money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign. Smith’s office also charged him with 40 felony counts in Florida, accusing him of unlawfully keeping classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and resisting government requests to return them. He has denied guilt in both these cases, which are due for trial next year.

Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are likely to announce decisions on charges in an investigation into efforts to overturn election results in that state in the coming weeks.

John Lauro, Trump’s attorney, has stated in TV interviews that Trump’s actions are shielded by the First Amendment’s right to free speech, and that he acted upon legal advice. Trump has baselessly claimed that Smith’s team is attempting to meddle with the 2024 presidential election.

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Contributors to this report include AP writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Ellen Knickmeyer, Ashraf Khalil, Rebecca Santana, Stephen Groves, Serkan Gurbuz, Rick Gentilo, Alex Brandon, Yihan Deng, Kara Brown, Nathan Posner, and Alanna Durkin Richer.

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Keep up with AP’s coverage of Donald Trump at https://bigbignews.net/donald-trump and of the U.S. Capitol insurrection at https://bigbignews.net/capitol-siege.

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