Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was denied his motion to remove his criminal charges from state court to federal court Friday evening.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones found that Meadows had exceeded his role as former President Donald Trump‘s chief of staff by working directly with his campaign, holding that he failed to meet the “quite low” standard for removal, according to his 49-page opinion. Soon after, Meadows filed a notice of his intent to appeal the ruling.
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Legal experts predicted the losing party would appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, teeing up the likelihood that Meadows motion for removal, which lacks dense case law, would be poised to rise to the Supreme Court after the appeals court hears the case.
Attorneys for Meadows wanted the case to move to federal court in order to have a better chance at getting the case dismissed altogether, citing federal immunity extended to certain officials who are prosecuted or sued for conduct tied to U.S. government roles.
“The Court concludes that Meadows has not shown that the actions that triggered the State’s prosecution related to his federal office,” Jones wrote, adding “Meadows’s alleged association with post-election activities was not related to his role as White House Chief of Staff or his executive branch authority.”
Meadows’ counsel believed they would be successful because the actions he is accused of in the indictment took place while he worked for the president. District Attorney Fani Willis argued that White House officials shouldn’t be involved in political campaigns, claiming evidence showed that Meadows’ actions were tied to the Trump campaign.
The law “bars a federal employee from ‘us[ing] his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election’” — exactly the conduct Meadows is charged with, prosecutors said.
Jones ordered the case remanded to the Fulton County Superior Court and ordered the clerk to terminate all pending motions, closing the case.
Meadows and his 18-co-defendants, including Trump, are charged with racketeering alongside other allegations in connection to attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
The former chief of staff is also facing charges of violation of oath by a public officer for his involvement in Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021 phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who asked him to “find” the number of votes needed to overturn his election defeat. Meadows and the 18 others have pleaded not guilty to the 41-count indictment.
Five of the 19 defendants have asked to have their case moved to federal court. Trump this week signaled his likely try at moving to federal court as well.
Shortly after Meadows lost, Willis filed a response to former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark’s bid to remove his case to federal court, saying he knowingly acted in a way that was “outside the scope of his authority within the DOJ.” She did acknowledge that Trump authorized him to draft a letter that pressured Georgia state officials to “take unlawful actions” but said that wasn’t a valid defense.
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Other benefits to requesting a move to federal court include the likelihood of a more favorable jury pool, as the federal district court would pull from more districts around the northeastern part of Georgia compared to more Democratic-heavy Fulton County.
Two of the 19 defendants, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, have requested a speedy trial and are scheduled to stand trial on Oct. 23.
