Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to all four federal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith alleging the former president coordinated with co-conspirators in an attempt to subvert the 2020 presidential election.
Trump made the plea at his arraignment, which came just two days after a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., voted to bring four felonies against the former president: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights, according to the 45-page indictment.
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: ALL THE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE ARRAIGNMENT AT DC COURTHOUSE
The former president traveled to the arraignment by plane from his home in Bedminster, New Jersey. After arriving in Washington, D.C., he entered E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse through an underground entrance at about 3:15 p.m. He appeared in the courtroom at about 3:50 p.m., wearing his signature blue suit and red tie. Footage of Trump’s motorcade driving through the nation’s capital blanketed 24-hour news channels. It was the third such scene in just four months, when he and his entourage had to head to New York and Florida for separate cases.
Inside the courtroom were 11 reporters seated in the back rows, while U.S. marshals and Secret Service agents stood past a wooden barrier near a table closer to the judge’s desk.
While waiting, Trump sat with his hands folded on top of a table while having frequent, brief conversations with his defense team. He was flanked by his attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche, while attorney Evan Corcoran sat in.
Special counsel Jack Smith was also present in the courtroom on the prosecution’s side, and he and Trump appeared to exchange glances a couple times.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya, who presided over the arraignment, began by asking Trump to state his full name, to which he replied, “Yes, your honor. Donald J. Trump. John.”
When asked to state his age, Trump stumbled, saying, “Seven-seven. 77.”
The judge then asked if he had taken any medications or anything that would make him unable to respond, and he replied, “No, I have not.”
Upadhyaya ran through his charges and applicable penalties and then read him his rights.
Upon entering his plea, the judge permitted Trump’s release on a standard set of conditions, including that he not violate any laws, appear in court when required, surrender if found guilty, sign an appearance bond, and not communicate facts of the case to witnesses in the case other than through his counsel.
Upadhyaya set the first hearing for the morning of Aug. 28.
When asked about proposed trial start dates, Trump’s lawyers objected to beginning a trial within the 70 days required by the Speedy Trial Act, saying that time frame would be “absurd.”
The Justice Department has had years to investigate, they argued, stating, “All we would ask is the opportunity to fairly defend our client. … In order to do that we will need more time.”
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Outside the courthouse just minutes before the arraignment, Save America PAC attorney Alina Habba delivered remarks condemning the case.
She called it a “deflection” from investigations into the Biden family’s business dealings and laid out a timeline of dates to illustrate how Trump indictments appeared to overshadow key moments in the Biden investigations.
Following the arraignment, Trump spoke briefly to reporters before boarding his plane home, saying, “This is a very sad day for America.”
He added, “It was also very sad driving through Washington, D.C., and seeing the filth and the decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti. This is not the place that I left.”
