Trump to Plead Not Guilty to Charges in Revised Federal Election Indictment

(Left) Special counsel Jack Smith in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images); (Right) Former President Donald Trump. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump said in a court filing Tuesday that he will plead not guilty to charges related to his actions after the 2020 election, in a revised indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate for the Nov. 5 election, also waived his right to appear in a federal court in Washington.

“I authorize my attorneys to enter a plea of not guilty on my behalf to each and every count of the superseding indictment,” he wrote, in part.

Prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday to determine next steps after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, according to the court docket.

In August, Smith’s office revised the indictment after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents should enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, sending the case back to a lower court. The high court’s ruling forced Smith to rework the charges, leading a Washington grand jury to re-indict the former president.

“The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions,” Smith’s team wrote in a separate court filing last month.

Smith’s indictment removes several specific claims made against Trump, although it contains the same criminal charges. They include conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

It alleges that Trump acted in his capacity as a private citizen and not as president when he committed the alleged election-related crimes—a signal that Smith believes the high court’s immunity decision doesn’t pose a major impediment to convicting the former president.

“The defendant had no official responsibilities related to the certification proceeding, but he did have a personal interest as a candidate in being named the winner of the election,” the indictment reads, in part.

Reacting to the new indictment, Trump wrote on Truth Social last month that the charges are “ridiculous” and that the case “should be dismissed immediately.” The charges, he wrote, are an attempt to “interfere with the election” in two months.

“For them to do this immediately after our Supreme Court Victory on Immunity and more, is shocking,” he said.

Months before the indictment was revised, Trump pleaded not guilty to previous charges that were brought by Smith’s office last year and denied any wrongdoing, accusing Smith and the Department of Justice of engaging in a biased prosecution against him. In that instance, he appeared in a Washington federal court to enter the plea, but no photography or video footage was allowed inside the courtroom.

In addition to the federal election case, Smith also brought charges against Trump in Florida, accusing him of retaining classified documents and obstruction of justice, months after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago residence for the documents. A federal judge in July dismissed the case, however, on grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed by the U.S. attorney general.

Smith has since appealed his decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and claimed that the judge, Aileen Cannon, misunderstood the process of how he was appointed as special counsel.

Trump also faces similar election-related charges in Fulton County, Georgia, although that case has been placed on hold as the former president and his co-defendants appeal a judge’s ruling earlier this year that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case. They have alleged she engaged in misconduct by being romantically involved with her former special prosecutor, who resigned earlier this year.

In September, Trump faces sentencing after a New York City jury found him guilty of falsifying business records in connection to payments he made in the 2016 election. Trump last week sought to have the Sept. 18 sentencing date postponed after Smith’s reworked indictment was filed.

Reuters contributed to this report.