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Trump Pleads Not Guilty to Charges Connected to January 6 Investigation
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to allegations that he sought to change the 2020 election results on Thursday in Washington D.C.
At about 4:00 p.m., Trump was arraigned at the Elijah Barret Prettyman Federal Courthouse. Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Conspiracy Against Rights, Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Procedure, and Obstruction of an Effort to Obstruct an Official Proceeding are the allegations.
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury delivered an indictment in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation.
“Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to stay in power,” the document alleges. “So for more than two months following Election Day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election that he actually won.”
It alleges Trump “knew” the allegations were untrue.
Trump blasted Smith and President Joe Biden on Wednesday night and contended he would not receive a fair trial in Washington, DC:
“The latest Fake “case” brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia! IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness. It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!”
This is the third indictment of the leading Republican presidential contender, and the second stemming from the Smith investigation. The Department of Justice (DOJ) of Attorney General Merrick Garland is investigating Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents in the Southern District of Florida, while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is prosecuting Trump at the state level in New York on allegations of business fraud.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in both instances and has slammed the prosecutors and allegations.
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