Former AG William Barr Says Trump’s First Amendment Defense in Jan. 6 Case Is ‘Not Valid’

Attorney General William Barr speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Dec. 21, 2020. Michael Reynolds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Former Attorney General William Barr has weighed in on the indictment against former President Donald Trump, stating the claim made by the former president’s lawyers that the case against him is an attack on free speech is not valid.

Speaking to CNN on Aug. 2, Mr. Barr said he believes the case against Mr. Trump is “legitimate” but acknowledged it is also “complicated,” adding that he is concerned about the “slippery slope of criminalizing legitimate political activity” and how divisive the case may prove to be among Americans.

Mr. Barr, a Republican who served as attorney general for the second half of the Trump administration, said he ultimately believes there is no legal issue with the indictment against Mr. Trump and stressed the Department of Justice was “not acting to weaponize the department by proceeding against the president for a conspiracy to subvert the electoral process.”

Attorneys for Mr. Trump have argued that the former president’s speech questioning the results of the 2020 election was protected under the First Amendment as political speech—something the indictment against Mr. Trump also notes.

One of the former president’s lawyers, John Lauro, told CNN that Mr. Trump had “every right to advocate for his position. ... He was being told under oath by people around the country that there were problems with the election.”

Mr. Lauro said Mr. Trump had “a responsibility as a United States president to raise those issues, and now his advocacy is being criminalized.”

Former President and 2024 Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks at a Republican volunteer recruitment event at Fervent, a Calvary Chapel church, in Las Vegas on July 8, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Indictment Against Trump

Asked if he agrees with Mr. Trump’s attorneys that the former president was simply exercising his First Amendment right when he publicly questioned the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Barr said he does not.

“I really don’t think that’s a valid argument. As the indictment says, they are not attacking his First Amendment right. He can say whatever he wants, he can even lie. He can even tell people that the election was stolen when he knew better,” Mr. Barr said. “But that does not protect you from entering into a conspiracy. All conspiracies involve speech, and all fraud involves speech. So, free speech doesn’t give you the right to engage in a fraudulent conspiracy.”

Mr. Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington on Aug. 3 to face charges in relation to the 45-page indictment bought against him and his allies and their alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election.

A grand jury convened by special counsel Jack Smith has charged Mr. Trump with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding—the Jan. 6 certification of the electoral vote—and conspiracy against the rights of citizens

The indictment (pdf) against Mr. Trump acknowledges that he, like every American, had a First Amendment right “to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won.”

He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means, such as by seeking recounts or audits, the incitement states.

President Donald Trump (L) and Attorney General William Barr at the White House on May 22, 2019. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

However, it alleges that Mr. Trump and his allies made “knowingly false claims” about election fraud despite being “notified repeatedly that the claims were untrue,” often by the people on whom he “relied for candid advice on important matters, and who were best positioned to the know the facts.” Mr. Trump, the indictment claims, still “deliberately disregarded the truth.”

Barr Warns Others in Trump Orbit

The Trump campaign has claimed the indictment against him is politically motivated and comes at a time when the former president is leading in the polls for the Republican 2024 presidential race.

Mr. Barr declined to comment to CNN when asked whether he had spoken to prosecutors during their investigation into Mr. Trump.

However, he said he believes prosecutors in the case against Mr. Trump have more evidence up their sleeve and that the public has so far only seen the “tip of the iceberg.”

He also warned Republicans against rushing to defend Mr. Trump, who is currently battling mounting legal woes, including additional charges bought against him by the Department of Justice claiming he deleted security footage at his Mar-a-Lago resort and willfully retained national defense information.

“He leaves in his wake ruined lives like this—the people who went up to Capitol Hill, these individuals, many of the people who served him in government that got sucked into things,” Mr. Barr added.

Still, the former attorney general did not rule out voting for Mr. Trump himself if he were to become the Republican nominee in the 2024 race, telling CNN, “I will have to wait to see what the situation is and I will pick my poison at that point.”