Donald Trump on Thursday pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in an amended federal indictment accusing the former US president of attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump’s lawyers made the argument on his behalf at the start of a court hearing in Washington focused on how the case should proceed after the US Supreme Court ruled that former presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
Trump, the Republican candidate in the November 5 presidential election, is not attending the hearing.
The new indictment brought in August included the same four charges that were included in the indictment obtained last year by special counsel Jack Smith, but dropped some that the Supreme Court said could not be part of the case.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to consider two motions from Smith, who is seeking to move 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 parts of the case should be dismissed.
Trump faces four criminal charges accusing him of using false claims of voter fraud to undermine the election results and thwart the certification of his defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden.
The case has been delayed for months as Trump pursues his immunity claim, and it is almost certain it will not be tried before he faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the election.
Trump has argued that the prosecution and other legal cases against him are politically motivated efforts to undermine his presidential campaign.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 majority that former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken within the scope of their official responsibilities as president.
Smith has argued that all of the remaining charges are not covered by the defense ruling, and can be prosecuted.
Prosecutors have said they are prepared to file court documents presenting their arguments “at any time the court deems appropriate.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers have suggested that Chutkan should not consider the impact of the immunity ruling until December, after the election.
If Trump wins the election, he is expected to instruct the Justice Department to drop the charges.
Trump has proposed that his lawyers first try to dismiss the case based on the argument that Smith was illegally appointed as special counsel under the US Constitution.
Trump used the same argument to persuade a Florida federal judge appointed by Trump to dismiss a second criminal case filed by Smith, which accused him of illegally retaining classified documents even after he left office. Smith’s office is appealing that decision.
The federal appeals court in Washington has previously upheld the authority of special counsels to handle certain sensitive investigations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
