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Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to trying to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss, answering for the first time to federal charges that accuse him of orchestrating an attempt to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

The former US president appeared before a magistrate judge in Washington's federal courthouse two days after being indicted by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.

Of the three criminal cases he's facing, the most recent charges are especially historic since they focus on Trump's efforts as president to subvert the will of voters and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory.

His refusal to accept defeat and claims about widespread election fraud helped fuel the violent riot on January 6, 2021, when a mob of supporters stormed the US Capitol.

Trump, who is now the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, sat stern-faced as his court appearance began. He stood up to enter his "not guilty" plea, answered perfunctory questions from the judge and thanked her at the conclusion of the arraignment.

His appearance unfolded at a courthouse between the Capitol and the White House, in a building where more than 1,000 of the Capitol rioters have been charged by the Justice Department.

The indictment charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss, including conspiracy to defraud the US government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.

US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya set the next court date for August 28, when a tentative trial date will be set.

Trump's legal team has characterised the case as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

In a brief statement at Washington's Reagan National Airport before he boarded his plane back to New Jersey, Trump descibed the arraignment as 'a very sad day for America'.

"This is the persecution of the person that's leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot," he said. "So if you can't beat 'em, you persecute 'em or you prosecute 'em. We can't let this happen in America."

The election theft case is part of escalating legal troubles for the ex-president, coming nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate and thwarting government efforts to retrieve them. That case is set for trial next May.

He was also charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign, a case scheduled for trial next March. And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in the coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state.

Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a "bedrock function of the US government," repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

The former president was the only person charged in the case, though prosecutors referenced six unnamed co-conspirators they say he plotted with, including in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.

© RAW 2023

Former US President Donald Trump has arrived at a Washington federal courthouse to face charges that he led a conspiracy built on lies to overturn the 2020 presidential election, culminating in an attack on the seat of American democracy.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was driven into the building for a scheduled 4pm arraignment local time, after flying from his New Jersey golf course to Reagan National Airport in Washington.

The courthouse is about one kilometre from the US Capitol, the building Trump supporters stormed on January 6, 2021, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

In a 45-page indictment on Tuesday, Special Counsel Jack Smith accused Trump and his allies of promoting false claims the election was rigged, pressuring state and federal officials to alter the results and assembling fake slates of electors to try to wrest electoral votes from Biden.

Trump faces four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US, to deprive citizens of their right to have their votes counted and to obstruct an official proceeding. The most serious charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

In a series of posts on his social media site, Trump framed the indictment as a contrivance to derail his campaign, while his campaign issued a statement comparing the Biden administration to fascist regimes.

The indictment is the third in four months for Trump. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he retained classified documents after leaving office and New York state charges that he falsified documents in connection with hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump may soon face more charges in Georgia, where a state prosecutor is investigating his attempts to overturn the election there. The Atlanta-area prosecutor, Fani Willis, has said she will file indictments by mid-August.

"I NEED ONE MORE INDICTMENT TO ENSURE MY ELECTION!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform ahead of his Thursday court appearance.

About half of Republicans said they would not vote for Trump if he were convicted of a felony, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, underscoring the potential risks his legal entanglements pose for his candidacy.

But the same poll, taken after Tuesday's indictment, also demonstrated his remarkable resiliency in the Republican primary race. He earned the support of 47 per cent of Republicans, extending his lead over second-place Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, at 13 per cent.

Three-quarters of Republicans said they agreed that the charges were "politically motivated," showing that Trump's claim that he is the victim of a witch hunt resonates with his base.

The vast majority of Republican leaders, including several competing with Trump for the White House, have either defended him or avoided direct criticism, instead accusing the Biden administration of weaponising the Justice Department against a political foe.

Many of the allegations in Tuesday's indictment had been well-documented in media reports and the investigation conducted by a US House of Representatives select committee.

But the indictment featured some details that were not widely known, including several based on grand jury testimony and contemporaneous notes from former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination.

The indictment describes a phone call in which Pence told Trump there was no legal basis for the theory that Pence could block certification of the election.

"You're too honest," Trump responded, according to prosecutors.

Although Pence repeatedly told Trump he lacked the authority to reject electoral votes from certain states, Trump kept repeating the claim.

On January 6, as he spoke to his supporters before they attacked the Capitol, Trump said: "If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election."

Some rioters at the Capitol later chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!"

Pence was one of the few prominent Republicans to criticise Trump on Tuesday, saying that "anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president."

© RAW 2023

A major think tank is calling for income-based road tolls and higher charges for those with good access to public transport who use their cars instead.

With the introduction of a per-kilometre road user charge, drivers would be encouraged to use their cars less, cutting down on traffic and emissions, a report by the Committee for Sydney has argued.

"Just as we pay a fare to catch the train, ferry or bus, we should also pay a fare to drive on the roads," report author and committee public policy advisor Harri Bancroft said.

She said the only way to cut down on congestion and get more people using alternative means of transport was to put a price on road use.

To ensure fairness for those in low-density areas whose only option was to drive, the charge could take into account ease of access to public transport and could also be based on household income, the report said.

Concessional rates could also be considered for road users such as truck drivers, tradespeople, carshare vehicles and carers.

Ms Bancroft noted the federal government would likely be looking to introduce road-use charges to compensate for the loss of fuel excise as people shifted to electric vehicles.

While the proposed strategies might be unpopular, the aim was to encourage people to use their cars less, which she said was the only viable option as populations in urban centres grew.

The report was made in submission to a major NSW government review of road tolls led by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Allan Fels.

Ms Bancroft said the review was an opportunity for NSW to lead the country in ambitious and meaningful toll reform.

"While much of the public debate on tolls has been focused on the cost of them, we have not been considering the cost of the alternative - traffic," she said.

"Everyone loves to hate them, but reducing tolls will simply shift the cost of driving from people's pockets to people's time."

© AAP 2023