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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis received a win this week in her ongoing legal battle against former President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Judge Scott McAfee issued a ruling denying Trump's attempts to have the election interference charges against him in Georgia dropped, citing the First Amendment.
"Without foreclosing the ability to raise similar as-applied challenges at the appropriate time after the establishment of a factual record, the Defendants' motions based on First Amendment grounds are denied," the judge wrote in the order.
"The Defendants seek to dismiss the indictment on as-applied and facial First Amendment ground," the order said. "They argue this prosecution violates the First Amendment's protections of political speech and activity, freedom of association, and the right to petition Congress as-applied to their alleged conduct, and further contend that the indicted charges are overbroad."
The context:
Trump was previously indicted by Willis's office on charges relating to alleged election interference in Georgia following the 2020 presidential election. Trump and 18 co-defendants were also accused of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case, and one of his co-defendants, Michael Roman, previously attempted to have Willis disqualified.
What we know:
Last week, Trump's legal team argued for the charges against him to be dismissed in Fulton County.
"There is nothing alleged factually against President Trump that is not political speech," Trump's attorney, Steve Sadow said.
Sadow also argued that Trump's remarks over concerns about the election were "the height of political speech."
Last month, Judge McAfee issued a ruling in an attempt to disqualify Willis over a relationship she had with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor hired by her office. The judge ruled that the case against the former president could continue if Willis removed either Wade or her entire office from it.
Views:
In a statement to Newsweek on Thursday, Sadow said, "President Trump and other defendants respectfully disagree with Judge McAfee's order and will continue to evaluate their options regarding the First Amendment challenges. 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."
What's next:
Following the order on Thursday, Willis's case against Trump for alleged election interference will continue.
In an interview with CNN last month, Willis discussed efforts to derail the case against Trump and said, "I don't feel like we have been slowed down at all."
"I think there are efforts to slow down the train, but the train is coming," Willis said.
Update 4/4/24, 1:10 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 4/4/24, 1:51 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more