Judge advances pretrial motions in Georgia election interference case
ATLANTA (AP) — The prosecution against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case aims to criminalize political speech and Former President Donald Trump's lawyers have challenged the charges against him in a court in Georgia, arguing that they aim to criminalize political speech and advocacy protected by the First Amendment. The case against Trump and 18 others was brought before Judge Scott McAfee, accusing them of participating in a scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The judge rejected defense efforts to remove District Attorney Fani Willis from the case due to her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Shafer's lawyers argue that he acted lawfully when he and other Republicans in Georgia signed a certificate claiming that Trump won the 2020 election. No trial date has been set for.
Pubblicato : 4 settimane fa di Camilo Morgan in Politics
ATLANTA (AP) — The prosecution against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case aims to criminalize political speech and advocacy protected by the First Amendment, his lawyers argued in a filing challenging the charges.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee plans to hear arguments on that motion and two pretrial motions filed by former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer during a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Shafer’s lawyers argue that he acted lawfully when he and other Republicans in the state signed a certificate claiming that Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and declared himself among the “duly elected and qualified” electors of the state explained.
McAfee is moving forward with the case even as Trump and other defendants have said they plan to seek a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis. The judge earlier this month rejected defense efforts to remove Willis and her office because of her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, but gave the defendants permission to ask the appeals court to review its decision.
Willis secured an indictment against Trump and 18 others in August, 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 defendants were charged with violating Georgia’s sweeping anti-crime law and other alleged crimes.
Four people have pleaded guilty after making deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set, but Willis has asked that the trial begin in August.
Trump’s lawyers wrote in their filing that the crimes their client is accused of fall into five different areas: Republican ballot papers filed by Republicans in Georgia; a request to the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives to call a special session of the legislative session; a filing of a lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election; a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in January 2021; and a letter to Raffensperger in September 2021.
“The First Amendment provides the broadest protection for political speech and discussion of government affairs, and not only supports but encourages the very type of conduct attacked in this indictment,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Prosecutors argued in response that the charges were “based on criminal acts, not statements.” Wherever speech is involved, they wrote, it is “speech that is integral to criminal conduct, fraud, perjury, threats, criminal inducement, or lies that threaten to deceive and harm the government.”
Most of the allegations against Shafer relate to his involvement in organizing a group of Georgia Republicans to vote for Trump in the Electoral College, even though the state’s election was in Biden’s favor. The allegations against him include impersonating a public official, forging documents, making false statements and writings, and attempting to submit false documents.
His lawyers wrote in a filing that prosecutors are seeking to “punish Mr. Shafer’s then lawful conduct as criminal.” They argued that Shafer was “attempting to follow the advice of legal counsel” and comply with the requirements of the Electoral Count Act.
Shafer’s lawyers are also asking that three language be struck from the indictment: “duly elected and qualified presidential electors,” “false Electoral College votes,” and “lawful electoral votes.” They argue that this language is used to claim that the Democratic voter list was valid, but the Republican voter list on which Shafer participated was not. They argue that these are “biased legal conclusions” about issues that should be decided by the judge or jury in court.
Prosecutors argued that Shafer “used false, superficial facts and legal inferences … to somehow suggest that he was or may have been a lawful presidential elector at the time of the charged conduct.” They agreed that the indictment ” “controversial” and “unproven” allegations, but said “that is not, and never has been, grounds for dismissal of charges.”
Willis and her team experienced several setbacks in March. Although McAfee did not accede to the defense’s requests to remove her from the case, he voiced sharp criticism of her actions and said Wade, her hand-picked lead prosecutor in the case, had to resign so that Willis could continue the prosecution. Just days earlier, the judge dismissed six of the 41 counts, including three against Trump, finding that prosecutors had not provided enough details about the alleged crimes.