Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a new hearing date for Thursday, March 28 in the 2020 election interference case.
As per the judge’s order, attorneys representing President Donald Trump and former Georgia Republican Party chairman David Shafer are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for a hearing addressing three motions.
President Trump's attorney, Steve Sadow, has petitioned the court to dismiss the indictment against Trump, contending that Trump's purported criminal actions were political speech safeguarded by the First Amendment.
Prosecutors have accused Shafer of involvement in promoting a false slate of presidential electors in an effort to overturn the ‘legitimate’ results of the 2020 presidential election. Shafer's legal team has requested the court to dismiss the charges against him, contending that “the State seeks to punish as criminal conduct by Mr. Shafer which was lawful at the time,” as per a February court filing.
In a separate motion filed in February, Shafer's legal team requested the judge to strike certain phrases from the indictment, including:
– “duly elected and qualified presidential electors”
– “false Electoral College votes”
– “lawful electoral votes”
Shafer's attorneys contended that the language used by prosecutors in the indictment amounted to conclusions that should be determined by the court or a jury at trial. They also requested the dismissal of three counts against Shafer related to the ‘false' elector plot. In response, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and other prosecutors disputed Shafer's claims in a court filing of their own.
Judge McAfee is scheduled to hear arguments on all of the aforementioned issues in court on Thursday morning.
