Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty in Georgia Elections Case

Trump waived an in-person appearance by entering a formal plea via court filing, which is allowed under Georgia law

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday in the Fulton County case alleging he and his allies attempted to overturn the 2020 election results in his favor.

Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty to all 13 counts with which he was charged: racketeering (violation of the Georgia RICO Act); three counts of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree; two counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings; conspiracy to commit filing false documents; filing false documents; and two counts of false statements and writings.

Trump was scheduled to be arraigned in person on Wednesday but waived an in-person appearance by entering a formal plea via court filing, which is allowed under Georgia law.

The Fulton County charges bring Trump to a total of 91 criminal counts he's been indicted on this year between the four investigations, several of which come with recommended prison time. If convicted of violating the Georgia RICO Act — classified a step above felony, as a "serious felony" — Trump would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

Related: Donald Trump Indicted for Attempting to Overturn 2020 Election Results in Georgia

Trump and 18 of his allies were federally charged in an indictment released earlier this month.

Others indicted in the case included former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Bob Cheeley, Ray Smith III and Kenneth Chesebro; former assistant U.S. attorney general Jeffrey Clark; former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer; and current Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still.

The focus of two separate grand juries convened in the case was on whether Trump or his allies engaged in possible crimes related to their efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss in Georgia, a historically red state where he lost the popular vote to Democrat Joe Biden.

Almost immediately after losing the state to Biden in 2020, Trump pinned his loss on fraud, all while pressuring officials in the state to "find" votes in his favor.

Much of the scandal regarding his efforts in Georgia hinged on a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between the former president and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump told the secretary to "find 11,780 votes" for him.

That phone call — which was leaked to The Washington Post and made public soon after — helped spark the various investigations into Trump's efforts to overturn the election.

Related: Every Crime Donald Trump Has Been Charged with This Year

This is the latest in a series of legal issues for Trump who in April 2023, faced a Manhattan judge and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts involving alleged hush money payments to two women, believed to be (though not named by prosecutors) adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal.

In June, the former president was indicted by a federal grand jury for his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Days later, the former president was arraigned at a courthouse in Miami, where he faced a judge and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

And earlier this month, Trump was indicted on four criminal counts by a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and other efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

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