CNN
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An Atlanta-area judge on Thursday upheld criminal charges against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, arguing that the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election were protected by the First Amendment. denied.
In his order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said, “The defense has not presented any authority that the speech constitutes protected political speech, and the court cannot find it.” I can’t.”
McAfee's ruling is the latest step forward in the state extortion case against Trump. But although Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated she is prepared to go to trial as early as August, the judge has not set trial dates for Trump and the remaining 14 co-defendants in the Peach State. Not set yet.
McAfee's refusal to drop the charges comes after free speech advocates have repeatedly come up short in pre-trial disputes in election interference cases.
“By liberally interpreting the language of the indictment in favor of the state, as required at this pretrial stage, the court found that the expressions and actions of the defendants were allegedly committed in furtherance of criminal activity. McAfee said in the order issued on Thursday that he had found that the statement amounted to “knowingly and knowingly made false statements regarding the matter “within the agency's jurisdiction that were likely to deceive or harm the government.'' Ta.
McAfee previously rejected similar First Amendment challenges from other defendants in the Georgia case. In the federal election interference case, Judge Tanya Chutkan also heard and rejected arguments that President Trump's actions should be considered protected political speech.
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on Thursday's order from McAfee.
Trump's Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, said in a statement that Trump and the other defendants “respectfully disagree” with the ruling and will consider their options.
“Importantly, the court's decision made clear that defendants are not prohibited from 're-raising the applicable objections at an appropriate time after the factual record has been established,'” Sadow said. his statement said.
At a hearing on First Amendment issues last month, Sadow argued that President Trump's attempt to overturn Georgia's election results was “core political speech.”
“What do we have here?” Sadow asked. “We have a campaign platform and are ‘protected’ from government restrictions.”
Fulton County Prosecutor Donald Wakeford said First Amendment claims should be heard by a jury, not decided in pretrial motions. Trump also claimed he was indicted because his election lies were “used as part of a criminal act with criminal intent.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
