Fox News' Jonathan Turley claims Donald Trump is “protected by the First Amendment” from charges in January 6th indictment
Published
Citation From the August 1, 2023, edition of Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier
JONATHAN TURLEY (GUEST): Well, I think he established that this is the criminalization of disinformation. That's what he was referring to. I think he's going to have a hard time with that. I mean, this looks like basically a complaint that follows Oscar Wilde's rules: the best way to be rid of temptation is to yield to it.
It does not appear that this was motivated by new evidence, and in order to get a conviction, he will have to use material that, in my view, is clearly protected by the First Amendment. He's allowed to follow bad advice. I was doing part of the coverage on that day. I criticized the speech when Trump was giving it. I disagreed with what he said about Pence. That doesn't mean that he is a criminal for following that advice or taking that view.
And, more importantly, you have Democrats that challenge the certification of Republican presidents. Were they also engaged in a criminal conduct when they did that? I think this is going to face very severe scrutiny. The question is whether the Trump campaign can get this into the appellate courts quickly where I think Smith's going to have a hard time.