Trump Due To Face a Judge Today at Washington on Charges He Tried To Overturn 2020 Election

WASHINGTON — President Trump is due in federal court today to answer to charges that he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, facing a judge near the Capitol that his supporters stormed to try to block the peaceful transfer of power.In what’s become a familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual, Mr. Trump is expected to be processed by law enforcement, be taken into custody and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge before being released, so he can rejoin the campaign trail as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024.An indictment Tuesday from Special Counsel Jack Smith charges Mr. Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss in the run-up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.The Republican former president was the only person charged in the case, though prosecutors referenced six co-conspirators, mostly lawyers, they say he plotted with, including in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by President Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.The indictment chronicles how Mr. Trump and his Republican allies, in what Mr. Smith described as an attack on a “bedrock function of the U.S. government,” repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured Vice President Pence and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.This is the third criminal case brought against Mr. Trump in the last six months. He was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Smith’s office also has charged him with 40 felony counts in Florida, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and refusing government demands to give them back. He has pleaded not guilty in both those cases, which are set for trial next year.And prosecutors at Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state.Mr. Trump’s lawyer John Lauro has asserted in television interviews that Mr. Trump’s actions were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech and that he relied on the advice of lawyers. Mr. Trump has claimed without evidence that Mr. Smith’s team is trying to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, in which Mr. Trump is the early front-runner to claim the Republican nomination.Mr. Smith said in a rare public statement that he was seeking a speedy trial, though Mr. Lauro has said he intends to slow the case down so that the defense team can conduct its own investigation.The arraignment will be handled before a federal magistrate judge, Moxila Upadyaha, who joined the bench last year. After that, the case will be presided over by a federal district judge, Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of President Obama who has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of the Capitol rioters.Judge Chutkan has also ruled against Mr. Trump before, refusing in November 2021 to block the release of documents to the House January 6 committee by asserting executive privilege.

Trump Due To Face a Judge Today at Washington on Charges He Tried To Overturn 2020 Election

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