Published April 4, 2024
A Georgia judge on Thursday rejected former President Trump’s attempt to get the state’s election-racketeering case against him dismissed based on First Amendment claims.
Why it matters: It’s a loss for the former president and the presumed Republican presidential nominee in arguably the most damaging of the four criminal cases against him. While no trial date has been set, it’s still moving forward.
Catch up quick: Lawyers for Trump recently argued that the former president can’t be charged because his denials and challenges to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election were protected by his right to free speech, even if they were false.
- Lawyers for the former president and Trump’s 14 co-defendants in the case made similar arguments.
- Thursday’s rejection of that argument comes on the heels of Fulton County Superior Court judge Scott McAfeedismissing six counts in the indictment, including three against the former president.
What they’re saying: McAfee ruled that First Amendment protections do not shield Trump or the other defendants in the case because the indictment alleges that their statements were made “in furtherance of criminal activity.”
- “In other words, the law does not insulate speech allegedly made during fraudulent or criminal conduct from prosecution under the guise of petitioning the government,” McAfee wrote.
- “The defense has not presented, nor is the Court able to find, any authority that the speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech,” he added.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.axios.com
RELATED: Judge denies Trump’s motion to have Georgia election case dismissed on 1st Amendment grounds
Trump said the election subversion charges violated his First Amendment rights.
Judge denies Trump’s motion to have Georgia election case dismissedMike Stewart/AP
Published April 4, 2024
A Fulton County judge on Thursday denied a motion from former President Donald Trump and several of his co-defendants seeking to have the Georgia election interference casethrown out based on First Amendment challenges.
Trump and others had argued, in part, that the Fulton County indictment violated their First Amendment right to challenge the 2020 presidential election results.
In his order denying the motion, Judge Scott McAfee wrote that “Even core political speech addressing matters of public concern is not impenetrable from prosecution if allegedly used to further criminal activity.”
The judge, in his ruling, said that the indictment alleges more than just political statements.
“The State has alleged more than mere expressions of a political nature,” the judge wrote. “Rather, the indictment charges the Defendants with knowingly and willfully making false statements to public officers and knowingly and willfully filing documents containing false statements and misrepresentations within the jurisdiction of state departments and agencies.”
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.abcnews.go.com
RELATED: Judge rejects Trump’s bid to get Georgia election subversion case dismissed on free speech grounds
Judge rejects Trump’s bid to get Georgia election case dismissed.
Published April 4, 2024
An Atlanta-area judge on Thursday upheld the criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, rejecting the argument that Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election were protected under the First Amendment.
“The defense has not presented, nor is the Court able to find, any authority that the speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his order.
McAfee’s ruling is the latest step inching the state racketeering case against Trump forward. But while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has suggested she would be ready to go to trial as soon as August, the judge has still not set a trial date for Trump or his remaining 14 co-defendants in the Peach State.
