Today, President Trump’s lawyers filed a court motion in Georgia alleging that the former president’s statements were political speech protected under the First Amendment in the wake of the 2020 election.
“Every single alleged overt act listed and count charged against President Trump seeks to criminalize content-based, core political speech and expressive conduct,” President Trump’s team wrote.
District Attorney Fani Willis charged the former president and more than a dozen others in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges of plotting to overthrow the state’s election.
The case against former President Trump involves a series of indictments, with some defendants pleading guilty in exchange for more lenient punishment. However, President Trump and the remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty. Former president’s lawyers argue that the indictment violates his core First Amendment rights, as it directly targets protected political speech and activity.
Ms. Willis is seeking an August trial date for Trump and the remaining co-defendants, which would put the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in court defending himself in the months leading up to the November general election. Trump lawyer Steve Sadow believes this would be “the most effective election interference in the history of the United States.”
The Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has expressed skepticism about trying too many people at once, stating that even 12 people at once could be a stretch. Prosecutors and defense attorneys are exchanging evidence, and pretrial motions for most defendants are due early next month.
Ms. Willis believes more co-defendants will take plea deals, although she did not elaborate. Attorney Sidney Powell, Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, and bail bondsman Scott Hall have taken plea deals in exchange for guilty pleas.
The case is one of four criminal prosecutions brought against Trump this year, with significant overlap with the indictment brought in Washington by Mr. Smith. Ms. Willis, a Democrat up for reelection next year, believes that a woman in Georgia can get evidence, look at the evidence, and make charging decisions.
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