Key Points
- Former president Trump faces federal charges for allegedly leading a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.
- Trump's charges includes four counts, with the most serious carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
- Despite legal troubles, Trump maintains strong support in the Republican primary race.
Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty in federal court to four criminal counts charging him with plotting to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.
Trump arrived at a Washington federal courthouse to face charges he led a conspiracy built on lies to overturn the 2020 presidential election, culminating in an attack on the seat of American democracy.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was driven into the building for a scheduled 4pm arraignment local time, after flying from his New Jersey golf course to Reagan National Airport in Washington.
After the court hearing, Trump described his arraignment as a "very sad day for America" before boarding his plane to return to New Jersey.
The courthouse is about one kilometre from the US Capitol, the building Trump supporters stormed on 6 January 2021, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In a 45-page indictment on Tuesday, Special Counsel Jack Smith accused Trump and his allies of promoting false claims the election was rigged, pressuring state and federal officials to alter the results and assembling fake slates of electors to try to wrest electoral votes from Biden.
Trump faces four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US, to deprive citizens of their right to have their votes counted and to obstruct an official proceeding. The most serious charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
In a series of posts on his social media site, Trump framed the indictment as a contrivance to derail his campaign, while his campaign issued a statement comparing the Biden administration to fascist regimes.
The indictment is the third in four months for Trump. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he retained classified documents after leaving office and New York state charges that he falsified documents in connection with hush money payments to a porn star.
Trump may soon face more charges in Georgia, where a state prosecutor is investigating his attempts to overturn the election there. The Atlanta-area prosecutor, Fani Willis, has said she will file indictments by mid-August.
"I NEED ONE MORE INDICTMENT TO ENSURE MY ELECTION!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform ahead of his Thursday court appearance.
About half of Republicans said they would not vote for Trump if he were convicted of a felony, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, underscoring the potential risks his legal entanglements pose for his candidacy.
But the same poll, taken after Tuesday's indictment, also demonstrated his remarkable resiliency in the Republican primary race. He earned the support of 47 per cent of Republicans, extending his lead over second-place Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, at 13 per cent.
Three-quarters of Republicans said they agreed that the charges were "politically motivated," showing that Trump's claim that he is the victim of a witch hunt resonates with his base.
People gather, one with a sign that reads "COUP," before Donald Trump arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman US Federal Courthouse in Washington. Source: AAP / Jacquelyn Martin
Many of the allegations in Tuesday's indictment had been well-documented in media reports and the investigation conducted by a US House of Representatives select committee.
But the indictment featured some details that were not widely known, including several based on grand jury testimony and contemporaneous notes from former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination.
The indictment describes a phone call in which Pence told Trump there was no legal basis for the theory that Pence could block certification of the election.
"You're too honest," Trump responded, according to prosecutors.
Although Pence repeatedly told Trump he lacked the authority to reject electoral votes from certain states, Trump kept repeating the claim.
On 6 January, as he spoke to his supporters before they attacked the Capitol, Trump said: "If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election."
Some rioters at the Capitol later chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!"
Pence was one of the few prominent Republicans to criticise Trump on Tuesday, saying that "anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president."
