Ray Smith pleads not guilty, First Among 19 Defendants in Fulton County to Make a Plea”
Ray Smith pleads not guilty, Fulton County Georgia 2020 election interference case
Ray Smith, once a legal representative for the Trump campaign, stands as the inaugural among 19 defendants to formally declare a plea of not guilty. These individuals are facing charges in Fulton County, Georgia, related to an alleged plot aimed at obstructing the outcome of the state’s 2020 election.
On Monday, an attorney representing Smith submitted a waiver of arraignment, signifying Smith’s intention to forgo the scheduled appearance on September 6. Instead, not guilty pleas were entered on Smith’s behalf for each of the 12 charges brought against him.
The accusations involve Smith and his co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, who are alleged to have violated Georgia’s racketeering law by purportedly orchestrating a scheme to overturn the election results following President Joe Biden’s triumph in the state in 2020.
As per the indictment dated August 15, Smith is accused of unlawfully soliciting state legislators to appoint an alternative group of electors from Georgia, with the intention of casting their votes in favor of Trump. Furthermore, he is alleged to have conspired with others to produce a falsified document, purportedly the certificate representing the votes of the state’s 2020 presidential electors.
Having surrendered on August 23, Smith was taken into custody at a Fulton County jail, subsequently being released on bail amounting to $50,000.
The prospect of other defendants following suit with waiving their arraignment remains uncertain. The remaining 18 co-defendants are slated for arraignment proceedings on September 6. Trump is presently set to lead the day’s proceedings, with an arraignment scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Should he choose not to waive his appearance, he will face the 13 felony charges against him, and it is anticipated that he will subsequently enter a plea of not guilty. Following this, at 9:45 a.m., Trump’s former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is scheduled to undergo an identical process.
The schedule for the other co-defendants is designed to unfold in 15-minute intervals, continuing until 3:15 p.m., punctuated by a lunch break lasting one hour at noon.
