Trump pleads not guilty to Georgia charges

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to a wide-ranging Georgia criminal indictment accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

He’s also asked to be tried separately from some of his 18 co-defendants.

The Georgia indictment - filed earlier this month - accuses Trump himself of 13 felony counts, including racketeering.

Eighteen other defendants, along with Trump, face a total of 41 criminal counts, including falsely testifying to lawmakers that election fraud had occurred and urging state officials to violate their oaths of office by altering the election results.

The plea means that Trump will not appear in person at the Fulton County Superior Court next week to face the charges.

On Thursday, Trump's lawyers asked the judge to sever his case from some of his co-defendants who have sought a speedy trial.

This would put Trump's case on a different schedule from that of his co-defendant, Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer for Trump's 2020 campaign