Donald Trump has opted to plead not guilty on paper rather than in person following Jack Smith’s superseding indictment filed against the former president last week in his case related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump had already appeared in federal court in Washington in August 2023 to plead not guilty to the charges in the initial indictment, but following the updated indictment, after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, Trump was required to enter a new plea. The four charges brought against him in the case last year, however, remain the same; conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. A court filing Tuesday shows the former president waived the right to be present at his arraignment, authorizing his attorneys to enter the plea for him. The case is set to return to court on Thursday. According to NBC News, Smith said in the indictment last week that they would accept an absent plea from Trump while U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the case, Trump’s waiver late Tuesday.
