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Trump pleads not guilty to election charges in latest arraignment

Former US President Donald Trump in a court in Washington, DC, entered a not guilty plea to a charge of planning to rig the 2020 election.

Trump spoke during the brief arraignment to reaffirm his not-guilty plea, identity, and age, as well as the fact that he was not under the influence of any drugs.

He later told reporters the case was “persecution of a political opponent”.

It marks the former president’s third appearance in four months as a criminal defendant.

His not-guilty plea covered the four charges in this latest indictment: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The judge told the former president not to communicate the facts of the case.

She warned him that failure to comply could result in an arrest warrant, revoked release conditions and contempt of court charges.

Prosecutors told the hearing the case would benefit from a speedy trial.

But Trump’s defence attorney, John Lauro said they would need more time to prepare. He said the prosecution’s timeline was “somewhat absurd” given that the investigation itself had taken three years.

A charge of “conspiracy to impair, obstruct, and defeat the function of the federal government through dishonesty, fraud, and deceit” is among the charges made in the indictment, or charge sheet, released on Tuesday.

Trump lost the 2020 election to his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, but he refused to concede and mounted weeks of challenges across several US states.

He is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican White House nomination.

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