WASHINGTON (CN) — Former president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday to four criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to encourage the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya read the charges brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith, who sat in the seat closest to Trump at the prosecutors' table, in what has now become a familiar — but no less historic — arraignment process for Trump.
Marking Trump's second set of federal charges, the newest indictment unsealed Tuesday evening, outlines three criminal conspiracies used to subvert President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Smith describes six co-conspirators, kept anonymous, but whose alleged actions match those attributed to figures close to Trump including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell and Jeffrey Clark.
Three charges relate to the alleged conspiracies: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against the right to vote and have one’s vote counted.
A fourth count is for obstructing an official proceeding, which prosecutors claim Trump did by encouraging thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In court Thursday Judge Upadhyaya listed the maximum sentences for Trump, who was flanked by his lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche: five years in prison for a conviction of conspiracy to defraud, 20 years for both conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding and 10 years for conspiracy against rights.
Lauro, of the firm Lauro & Singer, raised concerns about the amount of time he and Blanche would need to go through the large amount of evidence the Justice Department had gathered in its expansive investigation.
Trump’s lawyers made a similar argument in the classified documents case, originally requesting that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon postpone the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.
“What we desire utmost is the opportunity to fairly defend President Trump in this matter,” Lauro said. “In order to do that, we will need a little time.”
The Department of Justice pushed back, highlighting their desire to move forward.
“This case will benefit from normal order, including a speedy trial,” said Justice Department attorney Thomas Windham.
The charges are the result of an investigation by a grand jury that heard evidence and testimony for months at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, located just two blocks from the Capitol.
Presiding over the remainder of Trump's case is U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee who has earned a track record as a tough sentencer in Capitol riot cases. She previously denied Trump's request to block the release of documents to the House of Representatives Jan. 6 committee on the grounds of executive privilege.
The next hearing in Washington will be August 28, 2023, before Chutkan, but Trump will not be in attendance.
Before Trump made his appearance, a crowd of supporters and detractors gathered outside the federal courthouse, some waving large “Trump 2024” flags and others wearing costumes mocking the former president.
Tighe Varry, a Washington resident, arrived wearing an inflatable costume depicting Trump as a baby, with “LOSER” written on a piece of paper taped to his chest.
“It’s about time that we realized that this guy is not above the law, when you break the law you have to pay the consequences,” Varry told Courthouse News.
John Johnson traveled from New Jersey to “support the boss.”
“He’s an American hero, he’s the voice and face of America and he’s done nothing wrong,” Johnson said.
Johnson excoriated Smith, calling him a lunatic — similar to Trump’s new favorite insult for the special counsel, whom he calls "deranged."
“Here’s the headline today in 2023: You’re either an American or a Democrat,” Johnson added.
Inside the courtroom, the gallery was packed with members of the media, lawyers, FBI agents, members of the public and a few of Upadhyaya’s fellow District of Columbia judges.
They included Chief Judge James Boasberg — whose courtroom was the site of Thursday’s proceeding — and U.S. District Judges Amy Berman Jackson and Randy Moss.
Also in the crowd were U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey and retired U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan.
Following the arraignment Trump reiterated to reporters his claim that the Biden administration is attacking him for political reasons.
"This is a very sad day for America," Trump said. "This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America."
Trump's first set of federal charges, brought in June, concern his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He pleaded not guilty last month to 37 counts at a Miami courthouse where he will appear again for a trial scheduled to begin May 20, 2024.
The former president has also pleaded not guilty to state criminal charges in New York over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. That trial is set for March 25, 2024.
Meanwhile in Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating Trump related to the 2020 election aftermath when Trump, after losing to Biden, asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find "11,780” votes that would hand him the state’s 16 electoral votes.
Willis has indicated that investigation is ending soon, telling reporters “the work is accomplished” and that she plans to announce the results of the probe before the end of the current court term on Sept. 1.
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