Judge Forges Ahead With Pretrial Motions In Trump Georgia Election Interference Case
HuffPost
Lawyers for Trump argued that the charges in the Georgia election interference case seek to criminalize speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
ATLANTA (AP) — The charges against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case seek to criminalize political speech and advocacy conduct that the First Amendment protects, his lawyers argued in a court filing challenging the indictment.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee plans to hear arguments on that filing and on two pretrial motions filed by former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer during a hearing set for Thursday. Lawyers for Shafer argue that he acted legally when he and other state Republicans signed a certificate asserting that Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.
McAfee is forging ahead with the case even as Trump and other defendants have said they plan to seek a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis. The judge earlier this month rejected defense efforts to remove Willis and her office over her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, but he did give the defendants permission to seek a review of his decision from the appeals court.
Willis in August obtained an indictment against Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to try to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, which the Republican incumbent narrowly lost to Democrat Joe Biden. All of the defendants were charged with violating Georgia’s expansive anti-racketeering law, along with other alleged crimes.
Four people have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set, though Willis has asked that it begin in August.
The president's holiday-like fantasy is getting roasted by critics.
The case had frustrated authorities for years as they had failed to identify the person responsible for placing the bombs.
Sydney Sweeney entered the Fox News conversation that came to an eye-rolling conclusion.
The lawsuit accuses the Defense Department of violating reporters' First Amendment rights.
“It’s become quite a messy and toxic situation,” a Eurovision expert said.
The Duke of Sussex jabbed the president during a Hallmark-inspired comedy bit with host Stephen Colbert.
The illustrated image is... something.
“These are serious charges, and that’s the reason we’re going to have special oversight,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The network's senior medical analyst put an inventive twist on the president's drowsy appearance during his Cabinet meeting.
Many blasted the House minority leader's reaction to Trump pardoning a Democrat who was indicted on charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent.
The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike.
In a deal with federal prosecutors entered Tuesday, former Florissant Officer Julian Alcala pleaded guilty to 20 counts of willfully depriving someone of their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
The initial findings ramp up the pressure on the former Fox News Channel host after lawmakers had called for the independent inquiry into his use of the commercially available app.