Former US president and re-election candidate Donald Trump suffered a couple of setbacks this Thursday, April 4, after two judges rejected his requests to dismiss criminal charges against him.
On the one hand, Judge Scott McAffee, in charge of the case opened in the state of Georgia against the former president for electoral interference, rejected the request to dismiss the accusations.
Trump and 18 other people are accused in Georgia of forming a criminal association with the aim of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state, which Democrat Joe Biden won.
McAfee considered, in any case, that the actions and statements of the defendants in this case were made “to promote criminal activity” and are not protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The judge also alleged that the defense has not been able to demonstrate that Trump’s statements and alleged conduct are protected by freedom of expression and stressed that the court has not found evidence to defend that thesis either.
The Republican politician’s team had relied on the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects the right to freedom of expression, to defend itself in this instance.
The case of classified files
Separately, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida on Thursday rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the case for illegally withholding classified documents, which he based on the argument that they were his personal records and not government property.
Trump had noted that his retention of highly sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in 2021 was authorized by a US law that allows former presidents to keep personal records unrelated to their responsibilities. officers.
But prosecutors say the documents pertain to U.S. military and intelligence matters, including details about the nation’s nuclear program, and could not be construed as personal.
These cases represent just some of the legal entanglements faced by Trump, who has been criminally charged in four cases, as part of a campaign in which he challenges Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 elections.
Trump, who has called all four criminal charges against him politically motivated, still has several challenges pending in the classified documents case, including arguments that he enjoys presidential immunity from prosecution and that he was selectively targeted by The prosecutors.
Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments later this month on his immunity claim in a federal case in Washington, DC, related to his attempts to overturn his election loss.
Trump has managed to get trials delayed in three of the four criminal cases, and it is unclear whether any, other than the one in New York, will reach a jury before the November election.
another front In New York
Finally, this Thursday it was learned that a New York judge will hold a hearing on April 22 on the bail of 175 million dollars that Donald Trump posted, while he appeals a sentence for real estate fraud of 454 million dollars against him.
The Republican presidential candidate narrowly avoided a possible seizure of his assets when an appeals court agreed on March 25 to suspend the sentence if he posted $175 million bail within 10 days, which he did on April 1.
The judge overseeing the New York civil case, Arthur Engoron, ordered Trump to pay the $454 million in penalties and interest in February after finding him responsible for exaggerating his net worth and real estate values to deceive lenders. and insurers.
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