In a liberal democracy, deliberately undermining the electoral system is one of the gravest harms imaginable. The idea that such behavior would be protected by the right to free speech is contradicted by legal precedent, common sense, and the very structure of the democratic order itself.
NEW YORK – In response to the federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 US presidential election and remain in office, Trump’s lawyers and defenders argue that he was merely exercising his right to free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. To understand the case, one therefore must understand where free speech ends and criminal fraud begins.
NEW YORK – In response to the federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 US presidential election and remain in office, Trump’s lawyers and defenders argue that he was merely exercising his right to free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. To understand the case, one therefore must understand where free speech ends and criminal fraud begins.