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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee found that the
indictment alleges statements by Trump and 14 others charged in
the case were made "in furtherance of criminal activity" and are
not protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Trump and the other defendants have been charged with
racketeering and other offenses over their effort to overturn
Trump's defeat in Georgia to Democratic President Joe Biden.
They have pleaded not guilty.
The case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces as the
Nov. 5 election nears. His first trial, related to hush money
payments to a porn star, is due to get underway in New York
later this month.
“President Trump and other defendants respectfully disagree with
Judge McAfee’s order and will continue to evaluate their options
regarding the First Amendment challenges," Steve Sadow, Trump's
lead lawyer on the Georgia case, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office,
which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.
The Georgia charges focus on attempts to assemble an alternate
slate of presidential electors pledged to vote for Trump despite
Biden's win in the state, and Trump's January 2021 phone call
urging the state's top election official to "find" enough votes
to overturn his narrow defeat.
McAfee's ruling is a signal he will continue moving the case
toward trial even as Trump and eight co-defendants continue
their efforts to disqualify Fani Willis, the prosecutor
overseeing the case. A Georgia appeals court is set to decide
whether to take up that issue in the coming weeks.
McAfee said it will be up to a jury to determine if Trump and
other defendants, which include his former personal lawyer Rudy
Giuliani and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, acted with
criminal intent.
He said the defendants may be able to revive their challenge as
additional evidence is revealed.
Trump has other pending challenges to the case, including a
claim that he is immune from charges tied to official actions he
took as president.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone, Chizu
Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)
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