WASHINGTON – Donald Trump returns to the nation’s capitol on Thursday, but under much different circumstances than the former president would like as he faces federal allegations that he conspired to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump, now facing a third court case during the 2024 presidential campaign, is expected to appear in person for his arraignment in federal court. He has denied wrongdoing and cast the indictment as an attempt to thwart his attempt to retake the White House.
“Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago?” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. “Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial misconduct!”
But Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith laid out a stark argument on Tuesday when the charges were unsealed. He said Trump and six co-conspirators targeted a “bedrock function” of U.S. democracy when the former president tried to block the, “nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
Trump’s third arraignment: Here’s what we know
Donald Trump wants to move the trial – to West Virginia
Hours before his arraignment, Trump says he wants his Jan. 6 trial moved out of Democratic-dominated Washington, D.C., to more Republican-friendly territory, perhaps West Virginia.
“IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump,” Trump said on his Truth Social account after suggesting West Virginia as an alternative.
It feels like a legal longshot, but venue will likely be one of many topics to be discussed in pre-trial motions and hearings.
In his post, Trump also said he he has “called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness,” but didn’t explain what he meant.
Perhaps it was a reference to his 2024 presidential campaign.
-David Jackson
Trump arraignment time
The former president is expected in court at 4 p.m. Thursday.
In anticipation of his arrival, television production trucks and cameras continued to line the street Thursday morning outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse.Security increased overnight outside the courthouse and fences appeared around the perimeter of the building, as former President Donald Trump is expected to make his first appearance in the case related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 president election results.Journalists are currently being let into the courthouse as they attempt to gain access to a seat in the courtroom or into the overflow room for members of the media.— Miles J. Herszenhorn
What’s next for Trump? Questions in Georgia.
Tuesday’s federal indictment of former President Donald Trump for efforts to overturn the 2020 election is focusing attention on a Georgia investigation that may soon deepen Trump’s legal peril.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected within the next few weeks to seek a grand jury indictment for efforts to overturn the state’s elections in 2020.
In Atlanta this week, recently erected orange barriers stood around the Fulton County courthouse, with one street lined with police cars as part of security preparations. Over the weekend, Willis shared a racist threat with county commissioners and urged them to “stay safe,” as first reported by the AJC.
On Monday, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge rejected a request from Trump to toss the findings of a special grand jury and disqualify Willis.
Details of the Georgia investigation that have become public have fed speculation that Willis, a Democrat, is building a case under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which would allow her to charge numerous people in a potentially wide-ranging scheme, according to the AP.
Willis’ investigation began more than two years ago, after a recording of Trump’s 2021 call to Georgia’s secretary of state asking him to “find” 11,780 votes.
That incident was part of Tuesday’s federal indictment, which alleged that Trump induced Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to alter the state’s count of the popular vote and questioned the validity of Biden’s electors’ votes.
Raffensperger on Wednesday declined to comment on the federal indictment.
Some Georgia Republican lawmakers dismissed it, with Republican Congressman Mike Collins saying it was a “sham prosecution” in statement posted on social media and calling for funding cuts to the DOJ.
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called it a “communist attack” on X, formerly Twitter, and said she would “still vote for Trump even if he’s in jail.”
-Chris Kenning
