Former US President Donald Trump’s attorney John Lauro has confirmed that Trump is entering a plea of not guilty to the superseding indictment, The Guardian reported on Thursday. Prosecutors and defence lawyers submitted duelling proposals late Friday before the status conference. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is presiding over the case that charges Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
As the hearing opened, the judge noted that it had been almost a year since she saw the lawyers in her courtroom. The case has been frozen since last December as Trump pursued his appeal.
Defence lawyer John Lauro joked to the judge that “life was almost meaningless without seeing you.” “Enjoy it while it lasts,” Chutkan said.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was not present. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf for a revised indictment that special counsel Jack Smith’s team filed last week to strip out certain allegations and comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
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