The hearing only lasted a few minutes. Donald Trump was heard for the first time in a Washington court on Thursday afternoon, August 3, in the last case he was charged with: his attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. Facing Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, the former Republican President of the United States pleaded not guilty.
The 45-page indictment released Tuesday, which includes a “criminal scheme”, accuses Donald Trump of undermining the foundations of American democracy by attempting to tamper with the vote counting process of more than 150 million Americans, unprecedented charges and all the more serious as he was then president in office.
On the other hand, the two previous criminal proceedings brought against him this year, for accounting fraud linked to the purchase of the silence of an actress of pornographic films, and for having compromised national security by his supposed casualness in the treatment of classified documents , relate respectively to the period preceding and following his term of office.
Before this hearing, the ex-tenant of the White House had accused his opponent and Democratic successor, Joe Biden, of being in control of his legal troubles. “Democrats don’t want to campaign against me or they wouldn’t resort to this unprecedented instrumentalization of justice,” the former Republican president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I only need one indictment to secure my election!” “, also quipped the great favorite of the Republican primaries, 77 years old. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday, he is 37 points ahead of his best-placed rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
In his eyes, he is unduly accused of “having contested a rigged election”. “Unjust Jurisdiction, Unjust Judge,” Donald Trump also wrote on Truth Social, apparently referring to Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan who is to preside over the upcoming trial after Thursday’s hearing. “Presidents are not kings,” the judge said in November 2021, rejecting a request by Mr. Trump to block the disclosure of information about his actions during the storming of the Capitol, the seat of the United States Congress, the January 6, 2021.
An assault ‘encouraged by lies’
That day, hundreds of white-hot supporters of the outgoing president stormed this sanctuary of American democracy to prevent the certification of victory for his opponent Joe Biden. The Capitol storming was “encouraged by lies” about alleged election fraud in favor of Joe Biden, the defendant has been uttering for months, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith said after the indictment was released. who oversaw the investigation.
The prosecutor said on Tuesday that he wanted “a trial without delay”, which could therefore be held in the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign. “I can assure everyone that there will be a process and a fair trial,” the judge said Thursday. Moxila Upadhyaya. President Biden, on vacation at a Delaware resort on the east coast, assured CNN that he would not follow reports of the appearance of his potential future opponent.
