"Georgia Judge Denies Trump's First Amendment Motion to Dismiss Election Racketeering Charges"

A Georgia judge rejected Donald Trump's argument that the First Amendment protected him from racketeering charges related to his unfounded claims of election fraud, ruling that there is no shield for comments that are part of criminal activity. The judge stated that a jury must decide whether Trump and other defendants acted "willfully" and "knowingly" to break the law. Trump's lawyer argued that even false statements about election fraud should be protected political speech, but prosecutors contended that Trump's statements contributed to a wide-ranging conspiracy of making false statements to government officials. The case is one of four criminal trials pending against Trump, and he has pleaded not guilty in each of them.