Ex-US leader Trump pleads not guilty in Georgia election racketeering case

Former US president Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he led a criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia.

"As evidenced by my signature below, I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the Indictment in this case," Trump said on Thursday in a court filing in Fulton County Superior Court.

An indictment accuses Trump of 13 felony counts, including racketeering, for pressuring state officials to reverse his 2020 election loss and allegedly setting up a fake slate of electors to undermine the congressional certification of Democratic President Joe Biden's victory.

Fulton County prosecutors seek an October start to the trial. Some of Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, including attorney Sidney Powell, Trevian Kutti and Ray Smith, have also waived formal arraignment and entered not-guilty pleas.

Trials coincide with Republican presidential primary season

Trump, 77, surrendered to the Fulton County jail in the state capital Atlanta last week and was the first former US president pictured in a police mug shot.

Released on a $200,000 bond and given the inmate number "PO1135809," Trump was accused of colluding with 18 other defendants in a multi-pronged attempt to overturn his defeat in Georgia.

The billionaire - who lost the state by fewer than 12,000 votes - has been indicted four times since April, setting the stage for a year of unprecedented drama as he juggles numerous court appearances and another White House campaign.

Trump's arrest came a day after he spurned a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination -- all of whom lag well behind him in the polls.

During the debate all but two of the candidates said they would support him as the party's nominee even if he were a convicted felon.

Trump is the first US president in history to face criminal charges.

His various trials, if they take place next year, are set to coincide with the Republican presidential primary season, which begins in January, and the campaign for the November 2024 White House election.