Trump, co-defendants file motion to review free speech appeal rejection
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 24: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after being booked at the Fulton County jail on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Trump was booked on multiple
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Former President Donald Trump and his allies have filed a joint legal request in Fulton County for the court to reexamine the April 4 order that rejected their appeal to dismiss the Fulton County election interference case on the grounds of free speech.
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The co-defendants included Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Jefferey Clark, Ray Stalling Smith, III, Robert David Cheeley, Michael A. Roman, David Shafer, Shawn Micah Tresher Still, Stephen Cliffgard Lee, Harrison William Prescott Floyd, Cathy Latham, and Misty Hampton, also known as Emily Misty Hayes.
Steve Sadow, the lead defense counsel for the former president in his Georgia case, released the following statement on Monday:
"President Trump and the other unjustly accused defendants have jointly filed a motion requesting the Court to grant a certificate of immediate review of its Order denying their pretrial First Amendment challenges. The motion powerfully expresses that the Indictment wrongfully criminalizes core political speech and expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. There is no democracy without robust and uninhibited freedom of expression. For these reasons among others, the Court’s Order is ripe for pretrial appellate review."
The motion suggests the co-defendants' political speech should not be equated with criminal conduct. The Georgia Court of Appeals has been requested to weigh in on whether the defendants' First Amendment rights to political free speech have been violated.