Trump’s lies tested limits of the bully pulpit. His right to say them is at core of criminal defense

The federal charges against Trump focus on his actions — namely, that he wasn’t charged with incitement, which takes the issue of his speech off the table, according to legal experts.

“He’s allowed to lie. That’s not the conduct that’s charged. What’s important is what the indictment says he did,” said Carrie Cordero, senior fellow and general counsel at Center for a New American Security and a former Justice Department official. “And what he did was try to use — try to corrupt, really — different institutions of government in furtherance of the conspiracy to defraud the United States ... to try to prevent the election outcome.”

Read the full story and more from The Associated Press.