OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:22 AM – Thursday, April 4, 2024
A Georgia judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s bid to dismiss the charges filed against him in the 2020 presidential election case.
On Thursday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee rejected the bid, claiming that statements made by Trump and 14 others charged in the indictment handed down last year were made “in the furtherance of criminal activity” and thus, “not protected by the First Amendment.”
“After considering the extensive briefing, the argument of counsel, and the indictment, the Court finds these vital constitutional protections do not reach the actions and statements alleged by the State,” McAfee wrote in his order. “Nor do the statutes themselves facially violate the First Amendment. The defendants’ motions are therefore denied.”
Trump attorney Steve Sadow released a statement after the ruling, saying that the 45th president’s defense team “respectfully disagrees with Judge McAfee’s order.”
According to reports, last week, Sadow also argued that McAfee should throw out the charges against his client because it was considered protected speech.
“I don’t think there’s any question that says statements, comments, speeches, or expressive conduct that deals with campaigning or elections has always been found to be at the zenith of protected speech,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow argued in court, according to WSB. “When you look at the allegations against President Trump, all of the allegations—all of the allegations—involved expressive conduct or speech.”
Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Trump’s statements were part of a conspiracy to “illegally overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden.”
A grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others last year on allegations that they allegedly “plotted to rig Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results.”
Attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and bail bondsman Scott Hall are the four individuals who have entered guilty pleas to the charges. Trump is among the remaining defendants who have entered a not-guilty plea and denied any wrongdoing.
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