During a recent hearing regarding Donald Trump's attempt to dismiss an indictment in Georgia on First Amendment grounds, prosecutors contended that it was premature to address free speech arguments at this stage. The hearing, held on Thursday, saw Donald Wakeford, a prosecutor from the Fulton County district attorney's office, arguing that First Amendment arguments should be presented before a jury during the trial rather than being considered prematurely.
Wakeford emphasized that all the communication from Trump mentioned in the indictment pertained to the charges in the case and therefore did not fall under the protection of the First Amendment.
On the other side, Trump's attorney, Steve Sadow, made a case in a court filing for the dismissal of the charges based on the premise that free speech rights in the United States specifically safeguard political speech.
Sadow's filing in December stated, 'President Trump enjoys the same robust First Amendment rights as every other American. The indictment in question does not simply criminalize behavior with an indirect impact on protected speech; rather, it directly targets fundamental protected political speech and activity. Consequently, it is inherently unconstitutional under the First Amendment.'
