ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are reaffirming their arguments to have the 2020 Georgia case election case dismissed.
In a new filing Monday, Trump attorney Steve Sadow says the former president's conduct is protected by the First Amendment. Sadow also accuse Fulton County prosecutors criminalizing "core political speech."
The document, a post-hearing briefing, supports arguments made at an original hearing on Dec. 1 at which Trump's attorneys argued to have the case dismissed. You can re-watch that hearing in full in the YouTube player at the bottom of this article.
The filing Monday lays out five central elements of the case and argues Trump's conduct with regard to each of them is protected political speech.
Those elements include the "alternate" electors scheme, Trump's calls for a special session of the Georgia General Assembly, a verification Trump made as part of a lawsuit challenging the election, the Jan. 2, 2021 call to Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger and a Sept. 17, 2021 letter to Raffensperger.
"Every single alleged overt act listed and count charged against President Trump seeks to criminalize content-based, core political speech and expressive conduct," Sadow writes.
Sadow argued the court should dismiss the indictment before the trial begins.
"The speech Fulton County prosecutors seek to criminalize is precisely the kind of core political speech the Founders envisioned when carefully crafting those freedoms to ensure that, for the rest of time, U.S. citizens would not fall prey to mass repression and the manipulation or suppression of information as a means of control," Sadow writes.
Judge Scott McAfee is weighing several motions to delay or dismiss the Georgia case following the Dec. 1 hearing. No orders have yet been issued.
Trump and 18 others were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in August. To date, four people have accepted plea deals.
See the full filing below:
Emory Law professor John Acevedo said he doesn't believe the former president's case is going to end in Georgia.
“Just because something is speech doesn't mean it's not criminal," Acevedo said.
Acevedo specialized in First Amendment, Constitutional, and criminal law and said the issues aren't black and white.
“It's a plausible argument, and it's right on the border," Acevedo said. "I think that's what makes this case so interesting from a First Amendment and a criminal perspective is this is most certainly a case that is right on the edge of what is acceptable in terms of First Amendment speech.”
Acevedo believes the infamous 2021 call to Raffensperger is likely to pose the most significant challenge.
“The secretary of state's call is the shakiest First Amendment grounds, simply because a private phone call, it is still speech, and it might still be political protected speech, but it's leaning more towards interfering with elections," Acevedo said.
Acevedo believes the Georgia case will go well into the 2024 presidential election.
“It'll be fascinating to see how the court rules on this," Acevedo said. "It is likely to get appealed up no matter what the decision is, so likely we’ll see this go all the way up to the Supreme Court.”
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