Donald Trump Election Scandal: Why Will Ex-POTUS Skip His Georgia Arraignment?

Donald Trump is scheduled to be arraigned over his Georgia election interference scheme next week but he will not be attending. He pleaded "not guilty" to all charges against him in the sprawling RICO case.

Trump has always been known to seize on his court appearances and turn them into fundraising issues to get his supporters to donate. However, Axios noted that this is a "change" for the president who usually also uses these court appearances to galvanize his base.

Trump used his right to waive his arraignment appearance. He released a statement regarding his decision, which said, "Understanding my rights, I do hereby freely and voluntarily waive my right to be present at my arraignment on the indictment and my right to have it read to me in open court."

He added, "I do hereby waive formal arraignment and enter my plea of NOT GUILTY to the Indictment in this case."

Some of his 18 co-defendants also waived their right to arraignment appearance. These include the "Kraken" lawyer, Sidney Powell, who helped spread conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 elections.

In total, the former president faces 91 counts across four different criminal cases across the country at both state and federal levels. All but his Georgia case already have court dates and have already made his Republican primary campaign schedule even more complicated and hectic. His federal election case is even scheduled the day before Super Tuesday.

Donald Trump Exploring To Try and Transfer Case to a Federal Court

Trump's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is attempting to transfer his case from a state court in Georgia to a federal court, arguing that he did what he did in his capacity as the White House chief of staff. Now, Trump may be following suit as his lawyers are weighing in on whether to ask to have the case moved to a federal jurisdiction.

According to The Guardian, the former president's lawyers might base their decision on whether Meadows' appeal to transfer is successful. Should Meadows pull it off, though, the ex-president would have to show that his criminal conduct involved his official duties as president and that he was acting "under color of office" so he cannot be prosecuted at the state level.

Trump does have a vested interest in transferring the jurisdiction from state-level to federal. Should he win the presidency, Trump cannot pardon himself for crimes on the state level, only federal. Another reason is the jury pool in Georgia might skew heavily Democratic.

Donald Trump's Georgia Trial Will Be Televised

With the enormous amount of public interest in the trial, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee ruled that the trial of Donald Trump and 18 others, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, will be televised.

McAfee stated that broadcast news media will be allowed to have "pool" cameras, according to CNN. This allows groups of news organizations to combine their resources and share camera access inside the courtroom.

Neither the prosecution nor the defense seems to oppose this decision. McAfee also allowed members of the media to use cell phones and computer electronics in the courtroom for non-recording purposes.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Trump enters not guilty plea in Georgia election interference case - ABC News