Trump, Waiving Arraignment, Pleads Not Guilty in Georgia Case

Former President Donald J. Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday and waived his arraignment in the Georgia criminal case charging him and 18 of his allies with interfering in the 2020 election.

It remains unclear where or when Mr. Trump will be put on trial in the case, one of four that he has been charged in this year. The 19 defendants in the Georgia case are sparring with Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, over when a trial might start and whether it will be in state or federal court, leaving two judges in courtrooms only a few blocks apart in downtown Atlanta to wrangle with defense lawyers pulling in different directions.

“I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY,” Mr. Trump stated in a two-page filing on Thursday morning.

He wrote that he had discussed the charges with his lawyer, Steven H. Sadow, adding: “I fully understand the nature of the offenses charged,” and that he waived his right to appear at arraignment, which had been scheduled to take place in Atlanta next Wednesday.

Mr. Trump surrendered at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta last week and was booked on 13 felony charges for his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss in Georgia.