• There are 13 serious charges against him, but he didn’t go to court.
• He got his picture taken at the police station, which is a first for a president.
• His trials might happen when Republicans are choosing their presidential candidate in January.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of leading a criminal conspiracy aimed at overturning his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Trump, who is currently the leading Republican presidential candidate, faces a total of 13 felony counts, including racketeering. He submitted his plea through a court filing, waiving his right to appear at an arraignment scheduled for the following week. Trump, aged 77, surrendered to the Fulton County jail in Atlanta last week, making history as the first former U.S. president to be pictured in a police mugshot.

These charges come after Trump lost the state of Georgia by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. He has been indicted four times since April, setting the stage for a year filled with legal proceedings as he balances multiple court appearances with another White House campaign. Trump has requested that his case be separated from his co-defendants, some of whom are seeking a speedy trial, including Kenneth Chesebro, a Trump campaign lawyer scheduled for a jury trial in October. Fulton County prosecutors, on the other hand, are pushing for an October start date for all defendants.

Trump’s arrest occurred shortly after he declined to participate in a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Interestingly, nearly all of these candidates expressed their willingness to support Trump as the party’s nominee even if he were to be convicted as a felon. Trump holds the unique distinction of being the first U.S. president in history to face criminal charges.

If his various trials proceed next year, they are likely to coincide with the Republican presidential primary season beginning in January and the campaign for the November 2024 White House election. This sets the stage for an unprecedented period of legal and political drama in the United States.

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