California Senator Leland Yee pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of federal gun trafficking and political corruption.
Yee has been accused of accepting bribes and also for meeting with an undercover FBI agent and attempting to broker an international arms deal, reports San Jose Mercury News.
Yee allegedly accepted money, which helped pay campaign debts and was supposed to also go towards his secretary of state campaign. He met with undercover FBI agents over a period of three years believing they were businessmen, investors or even East Coast mafia members who all sought out Yee for political favors.
The 65-year-old state senator will be back in court on Friday. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer was selected to hear the case.
After his arrest in late March, Yee announced he would not be running for secretary of state in California, knowing there was little chance voters would look to him after his arrest.
Though Yee won't be campaigning and has turned in his resignation to current Secretary of State Debra Bowen, his name will still appear on ballots. State law doesn't allow for a candidate to pull out of a race once they have filed their declaration of candidacy.