Former United States President Donald Trump attended the funeral last week of a New York police officer killed in the line of duty. There, he called for “law and order,” one of the slogans traditionally preferred by Republicans. The current president, Joe Biden, has repeatedly criticized his predecessor and Republicans in general for using that slogan and at the same time calling those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 “patriots.” Trump is charged with 88 crimes in four different criminal cases. Last Thursday, at a hearing held in Atlanta, his lawyers defended that he was using his freedom of expression when he tried to alter the result of the 2020 presidential election in the State of Georgia. The judge rejected his request this Friday.
“Even basic political speech that addresses matters of public interest is not impenetrable if it is allegedly used to promote criminal activity,” Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his 14-page ruling, in which he does not close the door on the jury returning on the issue at trial. “Allegations that the defendants' speech or conduct was carried out with criminal intent are something that only a jury can resolve,” he notes.
“The defense has not presented, nor is the Court able to find, any authority asserting that the alleged speech and conduct is protected political speech. Although the defendants characterize the relevant speech or actions as petitions to Congress regarding the validity of the electors who should be granted constitutional protection, at this stage the court must consider the method and form of the criminal enterprise as described. alleges in the accusation, adds the document in which the judge rejects the file of the case.
In a televised hearing last week, Steve Sadow, Trump's lawyer, argued that a sitting president expressing concern about an election is “the pinnacle of political speech” and is protected even if what was said ended. being false. A prosecutor, however, argued that Trump's statements are not protected by the First Amendment, which enshrines freedom of expression, because they were an integral part of criminal activity.
The hearing before Judge Scott McAfee in Fulton County Superior Court was the first since McAfee refused to remove prosecutor Fani Willis from the case over allegations that she had improperly benefited from her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade. a prosecutor she hired to help her in the case. Willis had to remove Wade, but he is still leading the case, although those who participated on the prosecution side have been her assistants.
“What you are not allowed to do is use your speech, your expression and your statements as part of a criminal conspiracy to violate Georgia's RICO rule, impersonate public officials, present false documents, make false statements to the Government,” said the Prosecutor Ronald Wakeford, referring to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Prosecutors accuse Trump with this law, usually used against mafia organizations.
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Prosecutors recalled as a precedent that Judge Tanya Chutkan, in charge of the electoral interference case being heard in Washington, already rejected Trump's allegations that the accusation violated the former president's freedom of expression. The judge indicated that “it is well established that the First Amendment does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime.” “The defendant is not being prosecuted simply for making false statements, but rather for knowingly making false statements to further a criminal conspiracy and obstruct the electoral process,” he ruled, conceding that if prosecutors cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the defendant knowingly made false statements, he will not be convicted.
Trump and 18 others were indicted last year, accused of participating in a scheme to try to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, which the incumbent Republican narrowly lost to Biden. All of the defendants are accused of violating the law against organized crime, along with other alleged crimes. Four people charged in the case have pleaded guilty after reaching agreements with prosecutors and are willing to testify at trial as witnesses for the Prosecutor's Office. The others have pleaded not guilty.
Judge McCafee dismissed three of the 13 charges brought against Trump on March 13. In a nine page auto, filed the six accusations against different defendants referring to the crime of requesting a public official to violate his or her oath. Three belonged to Trump. One, for the call to the Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, on January 2, 2021 to find more votes. Another, for asking the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives to call a special session to illegally appoint presidential electors. The third, for also requesting Raffensperger, already in September 2021, to illegally annul his certification of the election result.
The other accusations still stand and those could be resumed if prosecutors specify what specific part of the oath the defendants would have requested to violate public office. Prosecutor Willis has requested that the trial begin in August, but there is no set date.
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