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Former US president Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges brought against him in Georgia that he and others conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.
In a court filing on Thursday, Mr Trump also waived his right to appear in court next week for an arraignment, where the indictment drawn up by prosecutors would be formally read out publicly.
Mr Trump was one of 19 people charged last week following a grand jury hearing into allegations they attempted to subvert the result of the presidential election.
Fani Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, charged Mr Trump with 13 felony counts including violating the state’s racketeering legislation, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree and conspiring to file false documents.
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Mr Trump was “booked” – processed into the court system – last week at Fulton county jail, where he was fingerprinted and had his photograph taken.
His campaign said subsequently it had raised more than $7 million (€6.5 million) in the days following the release of the mugshot picture taken at the jail.
The former president said in the court filing on Thursday that he had discussed the indictment with his lawyer and he “freely and voluntarily” waived his right to appear for his arraignment in court next week.
“As evidenced by my signature below, I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the indictment in this case,” Mr Trump said in the filing made in the Fulton County superior court.
An accused person is permitted to waive their right to attend an arraignment hearing under Georgia law.
Mr Trump is by far the favourite to secure the nomination of the Republican Party to run for the White House next year.
This is in spite of the fact that he has been indicted on criminal charges on four occasions in different parts of the US since April.
[ Defiant Trump seeks to gain advantage by using mugshot in fundraising push ]
The former president has pleaded not guilty in all the cases. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that allegations made against him are politically motivated and aimed at interfering with his campaign for the presidency.
In New York Mr Trump faces charges relating to allegations that he falsified business records to conceal hush money payments made to a porn star in advance of the 2016 presidential election. This case is due to start towards the end of March next year.
In Florida he faces trial on charges that he mishandled classified documents brought with him from the White House after he left office. This case is scheduled for May 2024.
In Washington DC, he faces federal charges relating to allegations that he sought to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. A judge has set a date of March 4th for this case to commence. This is just one day before Republican voters in more than a dozen states will decide on who should be the party’s nominee to run for the presidency in November next year.
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