Former President Donald J. Trump appeared in federal court in Washington on Thursday for the first time to face charges that he conspired to remain in office despite his 2020 election loss, pleading not guilty at a hearing conducted in the shadow of the Capitol, where his supporters, fuelled by his lies, had rampaged to block the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump was booked and fingerprinted before entering the courtroom and offering a “not guilty” to each of the four counts lodged against him on Tuesday by Jack Smith, the special counsel.

He was allowed to leave court without paying any bail or agreeing to any travel restrictions. A first pretrial hearing was set for August 28.

Trump arrived in Washington in the remarkable position of being under indictment in three separate cases as he is running for president again. In addition to the election case, he faces federal charges of mishandling classified documents and accusations in New York related to hush money payments to a porn star.

But even as he sped in and out of Federal District Court in about an hour and a half, he was leading his rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination by wide margins.

“This is a very sad day for America,” Trump said at the airport in Washington before boarding his plane back to his golf club in New Jersey. “This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America.”

Holding his umbrella for him as he emerged from his SUV on the tarmac was Walt Nauta, his personal aide, who was charged alongside him in the classified documents case.

Thursday’s hearing was held inside a courthouse that has been the venue for hundreds of trials stemming from the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. His lawyers used the procedural hearing to hint at one of his central defence strategies — a request to delay a second pending federal trial for months if not years.

The arraignment took place about 6 weeks after he entered another not-guilty plea in a Miami courtroom after being indicted on charges of illegally retaining classified documents in Florida.

The next steps in the case include setting a timetable for getting to trial.
Thursday’s arraignment had deeper historical resonance. It began a process in which prosecutors will seek to hold Trump to account for what they say was his refusal to adhere to core democratic principles, a trial that will be held little more than a mile and a half from the White House.

New York Times News Service