Donald Trump pleads not guilty to revised U.S. 2020 election indictment

Trump pleads not guilty to election fraud charges, case unlikely to go to trial before election.

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday (September 5, 2024) to criminal charges in a revised federal indictment accusing the former U.S. President of attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

Trump's lawyers entered the plea on his behalf at the start of a court hearing in Washington focused on how the case should proceed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former Presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

Trump, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential election, is not attending the hearing.

The new indictment, brought in August, included the same four charges as the one obtained last year by Special Counsel Jack Smith, but dropped allegations the Supreme Court found could not remain part of the case.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to consider dueling proposals from Smith, who is seeking to press the case forward, and Trump, who is pushing to delay action until after the election. The Supreme Court directed Chutkan to decide whether any other portions of the case must be tossed out.

Trump faces four criminal charges that accuse him of using false claims of voter fraud to undermine the election results and thwart certification of his defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden.

The case had been delayed for months while Trump pursued his immunity claim and is virtually certain not to go to trial before Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the election.