Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty to Georgia Racketeering Charges

Former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the racketeering charges brought forth by Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

Details: Trump waived his right to an in-person arraignment to hear his charges read aloud. In the court filing, Trump’s lawyer requested the former presidents’ case be separated from his 18 co-defendants scheduled to face trial starting on October 23, arguing the prep time was insufficient and would “violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law.”

For Context: Earlier this month, a Georgia grand jury charged Trump with racketeering and election interference in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Last week, Trump surrendered to authorities in Fulton County and had his mugshot taken. In addition to Trump, 18 other individuals were also charged with similar crimes in the indictment, including Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani. This case is one of four indictments Trump currently faces. Trump also faces charges from the Manhattan District Attorney pertaining to alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, as well as two indictments from the U.S. Department of Justice— one pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified documents and one pertaining to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden.

How the Media Covered It: Trump’s plea is being covered mildly across the spectrum, most prominently in left-rated sources.