The News
Former US President Donald Trump on Thursday pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in a revised federal indictment accusing him of election interference. Trump’s lawyers entered the plea during a hearing to decide how the Supreme Court’s ruling granting broad immunity to presidents for “official acts” would affect the case.
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed the new indictment late last month, which kept the original charges intact, but removed allegations of Trump’s attempts to pressure the Justice Department into prompting his false claims of election fraud. Trump’s lawyers on Thursday argued that the indictment should be dismissed based on the Supreme Court’s ruling that his actions were protected as official duties.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, a Trump appointee, will decide on the fate of the long-delayed case, and how the Supreme Court’s ruling will affect it. It is unlikely that the trial will begin before November’s presidential election.