Trump Pleads Not Guilty At Thursday's Arraignment, Saying A Fair Trial In D.C. Is Impossible

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges that he conspired to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. Trump, who is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, now faces 78 criminal counts from three separate indictments.

This latest case, widely believed to be the most serious of the three, is being handled by Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama-appointee whose courtroom sits just blocks from where the former president’s alleged conspiracies culminated in violence on January 6, 2021.

"The attack on our nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault in the seat of American democracy," Special Counsel Jack Smith said last week in announcing his four-count indictment against Mr. Trump. "As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies -- lies by the defendant."

The defendant appeared in person at the Washington courthouse Thursday, traveling from his home in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the four counts, which include conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

Trump has maintained his innocence, saying the case is politically motivated and that it will be impossible for him to get a fair trial in Washington.

One of his biggest supporters in Oklahoma, Senator Markwayne Mullin, agrees.

"I don’t think there’s any way in the world the President can get a fair trial in Washington, D.C.," Mullin said in an interview today in Oklahoma City. "I think they need a change of venues, and then I think that’s even questionable. To say this isn’t somewhat politically motivated, when the timing is so politically timed -- you got the president, the former president of United States, leading in all the polls."

As at the prior two arraignments, in New York in April and in Miami in June, members of the media seemed to far outnumber protesters. There was a small anti-Trump rally on National Mall and a smattering of Trump supporters and critics near the courthouse.

One fan of the former president drove a black limo up and down Pennsylvania Avenue with a loudspeaker blaring, "I will be the greatest president God ever created."

Across the street, Domenic Santana, a Republican from New York wearing a prison outfit, said Trump is a "rat" and a "con artist" who has ruined the GOP.

"He’s made a joke out of the Republican party!" Santana said. "What have we come to? Our party is a joke. We are clowns and I have to be in a costume against my own party."

But one man, who is often over near the White House and refers to himself as the Truth Conductor, carried a sign that read, "Stop Hating Each Other Because You Disagree."

"If America is the eagle, why is the left wing trying to destroy the right wing, and the right wing trying to destroy left wing?" the man asked. "What bird do you know can fly with one wing? If America is going to soar again, we need people that can work together."

The next court date for this case is August 28.