ATLANTA -- Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the 13 criminal charges recently handed up against him by a Fulton County grand jury. In a brief court filing, the Republican also acknowledged that he is waiving his right to an arraignment.

“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,” Trump stated in the document.

That means Trump will not be returning to Atlanta next week to formally hear the charges approved by 23 jurors earlier this month. He surrendered at the Fulton County jail a week ago, having his photograph taken for a mug shot that was quickly and widely shared across social media.

Arraignments are when defendants appear before a judge for the first time to formally hear the charges against them and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. The process is designed, in part, to ensure the defendant knows his or her rights. Judges often set additional court dates at arraignments, such as deadlines for pretrial motions and a trial date.

In Georgia, defendants can waive the appearance.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee scheduled arraignments for all 19 defendants in the election interference case in 15-minute increments on Wednesday.

Most of the defendants, particularly those who live out of state, are expected to follow Trump’s lead. Several, including Ray Smith, Sidney Powell and Trevian Kutti, have already waived their arraignments and pleaded not guilty.

In the weeks ahead, the Fulton DA’s office will also be handing over its first batch of discovery documents to the 19 defendants.

In a recent court filing, Willis’ office said it notified every defense attorney to provide a USB drive by Sept. 5 that is at least 2 terabytes — large enough to store hundreds of thousands of documents — for copying of the initial batch of discovery.

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