In a significant development, a judge from the Atlanta area has upheld the criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump in Georgia. The judge dismissed the defense’s argument that Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results were protected by the First Amendment.
“The defense has failed to present, and the Court is unable to identify, any authority that the alleged speech and conduct constitute protected political speech,” wrote Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in his order.
This ruling is the latest advancement in the state racketeering case against Trump. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated readiness for a trial as early as August, but a trial date for Trump and his 14 co-defendants in Georgia has yet to be set by the judge.
The judge’s decision to uphold the indictment comes amidst repeated failures of the free speech defense in pretrial debates in election interference cases. “After liberally interpreting the indictment’s language in favor of the State, as required at this pretrial stage, the Court finds that the Defendants’ expressions and speech are alleged to have been made in furtherance of criminal activity and constitute false statements knowingly and willfully made in matters within a government agency’s jurisdiction which threaten to deceive and harm the government,” McAfee stated in his Thursday order.
McAfee has previously dismissed similar First Amendment defenses from other defendants in the Georgia case. In the federal election interference case, Judge Tanya Chutkan also rejected the argument that Trump’s actions should be considered protected political speech.
The Fulton County district attorney’s office declined to comment on McAfee’s order. Steve Sadow, Trump’s Georgia lawyer, stated that Trump and other defendants “respectfully disagree” with the ruling and will consider their options. “It is significant that the court’s ruling made clear that defendants were not foreclosed from again raising their ‘as-applied challenges at the appropriate time after the establishment of a factual record,'” read Sadow’s statement.
In a hearing on the First Amendment issue last month, Sadow argued that Trump’s attempts to overturn the Georgia election results were “core political speech.” Donald Wakeford, a Fulton County prosecutor, insisted that Trump was charged because his election lies were “employed as part of criminal activity with criminal intentions.”
This story will be updated with additional reporting as more information becomes available.