Former US President Donald Trump, his party’s favorite to win back the White House, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges related to his “criminal” maneuvers to reverse the results of the 2020 election. historic before a federal court in Washington, the Republican billionaire himself answered standing “not guilty” to the reading by judge Moxila Upadhyaya of the charges and the prison sentences incurred.
Before flying back, he lamented “a very sad day” for the United States and said he was persecuted as a “political opponent” by the administration of his Democratic successor Joe Biden. A further hearing to determine the trial date has been set for August 28. It will be held under the authority of federal judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the proceedings at the trial.
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 X movies, and for having compromised national security by his casualness in the treatment of classified documents, relate respectively to the period preceding and following his term of office.
The federal court where he appeared is near the Capitol, the seat of the United States Congress, stormed by hundreds of his white-hot supporters to prevent the certification of the victory of Joe Biden, on January 6, 2021. “I can assure everyone that there will be a process and a fair trial,” Judge Moxila Upadhyaya said. Previously, Donald Trump had again accused his successor and Democratic rival Joe Biden of being behind these new legal proceedings to exclude him from the race for the presidential election of 2024.
His fault is “to have contested a rigged election. Unjust Jurisdiction, Unjust Judge,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, apparently in reference to Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan who is to preside over the upcoming trial.
“Presidents are not kings,” read a sign held by a protester outside the courthouse, referring to a sentence the judge uttered in November 2021 to reject a request by Donald Trump to block the disclosure of information on his actions during the assault on the Capitol. Judge Chutkan notably sat on the trial of participants in this violence.
“The Democrats don’t want to campaign against me or they wouldn’t resort to this unprecedented instrumentalization of justice,” Donald Trump previously wrote.
President Biden, on vacation in a Delaware resort on the east coast, assured CNN that he would not follow reports of his potential future opponent’s appearance in 2024.
More than 24 hours before the start of the hearing, the cameras and satellite trucks of the national and international media were already deployed in the square in front of the court, under the objectives and the curious eyes of passers-by and tourists.
Thursday at dawn, a few hundred journalists lined up to enter the court while security barriers were erected around the building, as well as around the Capitol.
More than six police services or security agencies, including the Secret Service, responsible for protecting high state officials, are mobilized for this occasion, the police of the federal capital told AFP.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who oversaw the investigation, said on Tuesday that he wanted “a trial without delay”, which could therefore be held in the midst of the presidential campaign. Donald Trump, 77, remains the primary frontrunner for the Republican Party.
The consequences of this indictment on his candidacy remain to be determined. Despite the lawsuits that accumulate, Donald Trump remains the huge favorite for the Republican nomination and even widens the gap with number 2, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has been making a series of missteps since the start of his campaign. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll published on Monday, the ex-president now leads him by 37 points.
