Donald Trump May Waive His Right to Appear At His Georgia Arraignment: Sources
Donald Trump is weighing his options when it comes to his Wednesday, September 6, arraignment.
The Fulton County Superior Court presently allows defendants to decide whether they want to attend the court proceedings virtually or if they want to waive their right to be present, and according to sources, the embattled ex-prez is considering skipping the high profile appearance entirely.
The 77-year-old surrendered himself to Fulton County Jail last week and was booked on 13 counts related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
His charges include racketeering, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, filing false documents and making false statements and writings.
Although Trump has not yet filed the waiver, other co-defendants in the bombshell case — including Sidney Powell — have chosen to waive their right to appear at their own arraignments.
This is Trump's fourth indictment this year. A grand jury first voted to indict the controversial former POTUS in late March on 34 counts of falsifying business files in connection with an alleged hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election.
His second indictment came a few months later when he was hit with 37 counts for his alleged mishandling of classified documents discovered at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Three more counts were later added to the list of charges.
Trump faced his third indictment in early August for his attempts to overturn the federal election.
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Despite his snowballing legal woes, Trump has continued to insist that the numerous investigations are nothing more than a scheme concocted by "the radical left" and the Biden administration to interfere with the 2024 election.
"Why should I have to defend myself from bogus indictments and numerous other lawsuits all of which have been brought and coordinated by the person that I'm running against, and leading in the polls, Crooked Joe Biden," he ranted via Truth Social on Friday, August 18.
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The sources spoke with CBS News about Trump's arraignment.