By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)
ATLANTA (AP) — The allegations against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case aim to make political speech and advocacy behavior that the First Amendment protects into crimes, his attorneys argued in a court document challenging the indictment.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee plans to listen to arguments on that document and on two pretrial motions submitted 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 moving forward with the case even though 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.
Trump’s attorneys wrote in their document that the offenses their client is accused of fall into five separate areas: Republican elector certificates submitted by Georgia Republicans; a request to the Georgia House speaker to call a special legislative session; a filing in a lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election; a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; and a letter sent to Raffensperger in September 2021.
“The First Amendment, in affording the broadest protection to political speech and discussion regarding governmental affairs, not only embraces but encourages exactly the kind of behavior under attack in this Indictment,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.
Prosecutors argued in response that the indictment “is based on criminal acts, not speech.” Wherever speech is involved, they wrote, it is “speech integral to criminal conduct, fraud, perjury, threats, criminal solicitation, or lies that threaten to deceive and harm the government.”
Most of the charges against Shafer have to do with his involvement in helping to organize a group of Georgia Republicans to cast Electoral College votes for Trump even though the state’s election had been certified in favor of Biden. The charges against him include impersonating a public officer, forgery, false statements and writings, and attempting to file false documents.
Shafer's attorneys stated in a document that the prosecutors want to punish actions by Mr. Shafer that were legal at the time. They argued that Shafer was trying to follow legal advice and the requirements of the Electoral Count Act.
Shafer's lawyers also request the removal of three expressions from the indictment: 'duly elected and qualified presidential electors,' 'false Electoral College votes,' and 'lawful electoral votes.' They argue that these expressions imply the validity of the Democratic slate of electors and the invalidity of the Republican slate in which Shafer participated. They claim that these are prejudicial legal conclusions that should be decided by the judge or jury at trial.
The prosecutors argue that Shafer is using incorrect facts and legal conclusions to imply that he was a lawful presidential elector at the time of the alleged conduct. They acknowledged that the indictment contains disputed and unproven claims but stated that this is not a reason to dismiss the indictment.
Willis and her team faced several challenges in March, despite McAfee not granting defense requests. did not grant defense requests The judge did not remove her from the case, but he strongly criticized her actions and said Wade, her chosen lead prosecutor, must step aside for Willis to continue the prosecution. Just days earlier, the judge dismissed six of the 41 counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, stating that prosecutors did not provide enough detail about the alleged crimes. Trump's lawyers argued in a court filing that the charges against him in the Georgia election interference case aim to criminalize political speech and advocacy protected by the First Amendment., must step aside for Willis to continue the prosecution. Just days earlier, the judge dismissed six of the 41 counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, finding that prosecutors failed to provide enough detail about the alleged crimes.
