On Monday, former President Donald Trump revealed why he didn’t make an appearance at his arraignment in Georgia last month, related to charges of election-tampering in the state, citing his outrage over cameras in the courtroom.
“Why would I fly down to Atlanta just to hear over a dozen FALSE CHARGES brought against me on live TV?” raged Trump — who faces 13 counts in just the latest of four criminal indictments against him — in a fundraising email.
“A judge ruled that all of my court proceedings in Atlanta will be TELEVISED for the entire country to watch,” Trump said. “The Communist Democrats would love nothing more than for me to be stuck in court in a televised spectacle as a way to keep me off the campaign trail. But I refuse to play into the Left’s hands. That’s why I have waived my in-person formal arraignment and simply pleaded ‘NOT GUILTY’ to the indictment in the Georgia witch hunt.”
Trump, 77, is accused of violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, conspiracy, filing false documents, making false statements and asking a public official to violate their oath of office so he could remain in power despite his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty by signing a court document, entering his plea on paper instead of in person before a judge at arraignment.
He did not make a public statement following the plea, but his campaign team sent out an email, quoting Trump’s exasperation with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who ruled last week that media would be allowed to record the court proceedings in the case.
Trump asked his supporters to “please make a contribution to peacefully defend our movement from the never-ending attacks,” before adding a caveat: “If you’re doing poorly due to the very sad state of our country right now, then don’t even think about donating!”
The email also included a screenshot of the former president’s signature on the court document used to enter his plea. The paper refers to him by his preferred title: President Donald Trump, a dig at the judge overseeing his arraignment last month who referred to him only as “Mr. Trump,” rather than “President Trump” or “former President Trump.”
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