Legal proceedings commence as three Donald Trump associates plead not guilty in Georgia election allegations

The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, and 18 others are facing criminal charges in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results in favor of Trump.

Three individuals have already responded with pleas of not guilty to the charges presented in the indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

One of them is Ray Stallings Smith III, a former campaign lawyer for Trump who worked on his legal challenges in Georgia. He is charged with 12 counts, including advising a group of “fake electors” who signed false documents claiming that Trump had won the state. He pleaded not guilty on Monday evening.

Another one is Sidney Powell, a former Trump election attorney who became notorious for her “release the Kraken” slogan. She is charged with seven counts, including making false statements and conspiring to commit fraud. She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and requested a speedy trial under Georgia law, which could start as soon as October.

And the third one is Trevian Kutti, a former publicist for celebrities like Kanye West and R. Kelly. She is charged with three counts, including intimidating and threatening an election worker named Ruby Freeman. She allegedly visited Freeman’s home and pretended to be a crisis manager. She told Freeman that she would be arrested if she did not admit to committing election fraud. She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday as well.

The rest of the defendants, including Trump himself, are scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 6 before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

They will have to enter their pleas to the 41-count case brought by Willis. They are all accused of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, among other charges.

Willis launched her investigation more than two years ago after a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was leaked to the media.

In the call, the former president pressured Raffensperger to “find, uh, 11,780 votes” - enough to reverse his loss to Joe Biden in Georgia.

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Trump is also facing charges in other cases at the federal and state levels. He has a total of 91 charges against him - 13 in Georgia, four in a federal case for election subversion, 40 in a federal case for hoarding classified documents, and 34 in a New York case for falsifying business records.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

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