Former US President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to his third indictment this year on Thursday, the latest one focusing on his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the January 6, 2021 riot on the US Capitol.Trump’s defense, according to comments in US media by his lawyer John Lauro, will argue the former president was listening to the advice of his lawyers and believed what he was doing was legal. That, combined with the assertion Trump truly believed he won the 2020 election, is creating an argument that the one-time commander-in-chief did not have criminal intent with his actions.
Trump was indicted twice earlier this year. One case, accusing Trump of falsifying business records, stems from hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from going public with claims that she and Trump had an affair years before the 2016 election cycle.
The second case, part of the official special counsel investigation, resulted from Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and alleged attempts to destroy evidence.
Trump has plead not guilty in all three cases and has claimed that they are politically motivated witch hunts.
