Trump lawyers to argue for dismissal of Georgia election subversion case – live

Former president Donald Trump speaks during a press conference on 25 March

LIVE – Updated at 14:07

Trump lawyers at hearing in Atlanta to argue the first amendment is grounds for dismissing the state’s 2020 election subversion case.

14:07

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, here are two things to watch in today’s hearing as Donald Trump challenges his indictment for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election:

An appeal by defendants of judge Scott McAfee’s ruling allowing Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the case but only if special counsel Nathan Wade quits could further delay Trump and his co-defendants’ trial dates.

13:46

Joe Biden hopes to rake it in this evening at a campaign fundraiser alongside Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, his two Democratic predecessors who won re-election. Here’s more on that, from the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly:

Joe Biden will appear onstage with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, his two most recent predecessors as a Democratic president, in New York City on Thursday night, a presidential extravaganza the Biden-election campaign said would raise a “historic” $25m.

Such a haul, which Politico called an “NYC money bomb”, will widen Biden’s lead over Donald Trump in fundraising for the November election.

Amid improving polling for Biden, the two presidential campaigns recently posted February fundraising figures. Federal filings showed Biden nearly $40m up in cash raised, leading the president’s campaign to taunt their rival as “Broke Don”.

Biden’s Thursday night show at Radio City Music Hall in midtown Manhattan will be compered by the actor Mindy Kaling, feature performances by artists including Queen Latifah and Lizzo, and culminate with a three-way presidential conversation moderated by the late-night TV host Stephen Colbert.

Tickets start at $250 but top-ups include $100,000 for a picture with Biden, Obama and Clinton – three men recently ranked by political scientists as the 14th-, seventh- and 12th-greatest presidents of all time. In the same survey, Trump finished 45th and last.

RNC props up baseless 2020 election fraud claims after Trump takeover

13:25

Georgia judge Scott McAfee will today weigh whether Donald Trump was just exercising his first amendment rights when he insisted, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen.

Such claims are alive and well at the Republican National Committee, where Trump recently installed several lieutenants in leadership position. The Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports that new employees are being quizzed about their views on fraud in the 2020 election:

A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee and Donald Trump did not deny a Washington Post report that said prospective RNC employees are being asked if they believe the 2020 election was stolen, constituting a “litmus test” as the 2024 election approaches.

“Candidates who worked on the frontline in battleground states or are currently in states where fraud allegations have been prevalent were asked about their work experience,” Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the RNC and Trump, said in a statement.

“We want experienced staff with meaningful views on how elections are won and lost and real experience-based opinions about what happens in the trenches.”

Trump has pursued his stolen election lie through his conclusive defeat by Biden; his attempts to overturn results in key states; his incitement of the deadly January 6 attack on Congress; his resulting impeachment and acquittal; his attempts to delay or avoid trial on four federal and 10 state criminal charges concerning election subversion; and his surge to a third successive presidential nomination.

Trump lawyers to argue for dismissal of Georgia election subversion case on free speech grounds

13:01

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Today in Georgia, Donald Trump’s legal team will argue that the case brought against him by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis for allegedly trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election result should be dismissed on first amendment grounds, CNN reports. The hearing in Atlanta will be the first held since judge Scott McAfee ruled Willis could continue handling the case, but only if special prosecutor Nathan Wade quit, which he did. For Trump, the odds are not looking particularly good: two of his 18 co-defendants have made similar claims that they were merely exercising their free speech rights when claiming, without evidence, that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, but McAfee rejected their arguments.

Today’s hearing nonetheless represents a return to sorting out the actual merits of Willis’s case, which was delayed for weeks after defense attorneys alleged she had created a conflict of interest by hiring Wade, a romantic partner. The Georgia case is one of four criminal indictments against Trump, but still has no trial date – a crucial element to sort out, considering that a conviction could upend the 2024 presidential race.

Here’s what else we are watching today:

Joe Biden this evening will head to a New York City campaign fundraiser where he is reportedly expecting to rake in a mammoth $25m, thanks to a little help from Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, both of whom will be there.

Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who was briefly a presidential candidate, said he would not pursue a third-party presidential bid, leaving No Labels’s much-worried-over ticket empty once again.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will see what reporters want to know, sometime after 11.40am ET.