Trump lawyer hints at a First Amendment defense in the Jan. 6 case. Some legal experts are dubious

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team is characterizing his indictment in the special counsel’s 2020 election interference investigation as an attack on the former president’s right to free speech. But prosecutors say the case is not merely about Trump’s lies but also about the efforts he took to subvert the election. The early contours of a potential legal and political defense began to emerge in the hours after the charges were unsealed. Defense lawyer John Lauro accused the Justice Department of having “criminalized” the First Amendment and asserted that his client had relied on the advice of attorneys around him in 2020. Some legal experts are dubious about whether that will work.