WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2023) Former President Donald Trump is appearing in court on Thursday afternoon to be arraigned on Federal charges accusing him of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump is expected to appear in person at the US District Court of the District of Columbia at 4:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. GMT) to hear the four criminal charges against him and to enter his plea.
Trump will appear before a magistrate judge before the case is handed over to US federal judge Tanya Chuktan.
Chutkan, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, is assigned to oversee Trump's case. Chutkan is the only federal judge in Washington to issue sentences to convicted January 6 rioters that were longer than what prosecutors had requested.
Chutkan has reportedly sentenced at least 38 individuals convicted on charges in connection to the January 6 riot, most who were sentenced to prison time even if prosecutors were not seeking it.
Trump's legal battles, and even if convicted, would not stop him from running for president.
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Trump in connection to special counsel Jack Smith's probe into his alleged role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The former US president faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of conspiracy against rights.
There are also six unnamed co-conspirators listed in the indictment revealed on Tuesday, who are accused of aiding Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the election.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and argued that the newly unveiled indictment against him is the latest attempt by the "Biden crime family" and the weaponized US Justice Department to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump's attorneys did not immediately respond to Sputnik's requests for comments on this matter.
