The South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to review the effort by Mark Meadows to block a subpoena issued against him in Georgia’s Fulton County criminal inquiry into former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Fulton County investigators led by District Attorney Fani Willis moved to subpoena the former Trump chief of staff back in August, but Meadows quickly waged a court battle in response. A county-level court ruled he would need to comply with the subpoena in October, but Meadows appealed to the state’s high court, which will now consider his request.
“The motion to certify is granted,” the brief ruling taking up the Meadows appeal said on Monday, signed by South Carolina Chief Justice Donald Beatty and four other state justices.
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Back in October, Circuit Court Judge Edward Miller determined that Meadows is a “necessary and material” witness to the Fulton County investigation and tossed out his bid to quash a subpoena lodged against him Wednesday. A lawyer for Meadows quickly said he would appeal.
“[Meadows] possesses unique knowledge concerning the logistics, planning, execution, and subject matter of the January 2, 2021, phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger,” Fulton County said in explaining its pursuit of the Meadows testimony. “Witness’s anticipated testimony is essential in that it is likely to reveal additional sources of information.”
Meadows attorney James Bannister argued that Meadows was not a material witness to the case and cited Trump’s assertion of executive privilege as a reason to quash the subpoena.
The Meadows legal team claimed that “a Certificate of Attendance issued pursuant to a civil investigation in Fulton County Georgia is without effect in South Carolina.”
Willis initiated the inquiry last year following audio that surfaced of an early January 2021 call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump said, “I just want to find 11,780 votes” in the Peach State, the alleged figure needed to reverse his loss to President Joe Biden.
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A special grand jury was impaneled in May to assist in the inquiry. Fulton County investigators have subpoenaed a number of high-profile witnesses for testimony. Ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are among those who have also been subpoenaed in the Fulton County investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland separately selected longtime DOJ prosecutor Jack Smith to serve as special counsel, investigating Trump related to the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, as well as tied to the allegedly classified records found at Mar-a-Lago during the FBI’s raid in August.
