Lawyers for former President Donald Trump told a Georgia court Thursday the charges against him in the state’s election interference case seek to criminalize political speech.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee heard motions in the case, including one seeking to dismiss the charges against Trump. The former president’s lawyer said Trump’s comments delegitimizing the election were, quote, “the height of political speech.”
Attorney Steve Sadow represented Trump, who was not present for today’s hearing.
“But for protected First Amendment speech, President Trump would not be charged in RICO or the other counts. Take out the protected speech, and you don’t have an underlying basis for which to charge him,” Sadow told the court.
Prosecutors pushed back against that argument, saying Trump speech was not protected because he was part of a criminal organization. Attorney Donald Wakeford represented state prosecutors, being led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
“It’s not just that he lied over and over again; it’s that each of those lies was employed as part of criminal activity with criminal intentions,” said Wakeford.
McAfee forged ahead with the hearing, even as Trump and other defendants are seeking to disqualify Willis from leading the prosecution. The judge ended the hearing without making a ruling.
This story comes to Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
