ATLANTA — Donald Trump entered a plea of not guilty to charges alleging he participated in a vast criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, and he waived his right to an in-person arraignment hearing in the matter, according to a court filing from his attorney in the Fulton County election interference case.
The written plea was filed Thursday by Steve Sadow, an Atlanta criminal defense attorney who was tapped Aug. 24 to lead the former president’s Georgia-based legal team. The filing means Trump won’t return to Atlanta on Wednesday, where Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the proceedings, has scheduled arraignment hearings for Trump and the 18 co-defendants in the sprawling criminal racketeering case.
In the filing, titled “President Trump’s entry of plea of not guilty and enter of waiver of appearance at arraignment,” the former president stated that he was “freely and voluntarily” waiving his right to be present at his arraignment and have his charges read to him in open court. Three other co-defendants had already waived their right to an arraignment and entered a not-guilty plea. A fourth, former campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, did later Thursday.
