President Trump Has a Strong Legal Argument

The state makes an argument that speech can be part of a crime and that, says Heritage Senior Legal Fellow John Malcolm, is not so remarkable. "If I walk up to someone and intimidate them and say 'Your money or your life' then clearly I am committing a crime and I have used speech, but what speech was President Trump using here?" Malcolm asks. "He was filing lawsuits. He was using the bully pulpit. He was using social media to question the outcome of the election and whether he had been deprived of a victory through fraud. He spoke to legislators, asking them to look into the matter." The First Amendment, Malcolm said, protects free speech, particularly political speech and the rights of citizens to petition public officials for a redress of grievances.