Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows pleaded not guilty to charges in the election interference case in Fulton County Tuesday morning, waiving his arraignment appearance set for Wednesday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, all 19 defendants in the Georgia case, including former President Donald Trump, entered not guilty pleas and waived their appearance in state court this week. Former Coffee County election official Misty Hampton was the remaining holdout by Tuesday afternoon but entered her not guilty plea and waived her arraignment appearance just before 2 p.m. local time.
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Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the defendants’ cases in state court, previously said defendants could waive their arraignment within 48 hours of Wednesday’s court date. Meadows’s waiver was filed Tuesday morning at around 10:45 a.m. local time, which comes after the deadline.
It remains to be seen whether McAfee will accept Meadows’s waiver. If not, he could be forced to appear for his arraignment.
A majority of the defendants in the case filed their plea and waived their arraignment appearance ahead of the long weekend. The remaining filings on Tuesday were due to the court’s Monday closure, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
Meadows is charged with violating Georgia’s racketeering law and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer in connection to an effort to encourage alternate electors to claim then-President Trump won the state in the 2020 election.
The former chief of staff is also seeking to move his trial from state court to federal court, which could result in a more advantageous jury pool and would shield his case from being livestreamed or televised.
During a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones in late August, Meadows testified under oath for more than three hours and claimed that the alleged actions described in the indictment were tied to his government duties as Trump’s chief of staff.
Jones has said he would aim to rule quickly on Meadows’s motion, which would decide whether he can successfully remove his case to federal court. Regardless of the outcome, both sides are likely to appeal.
Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, a defendant who is similarly seeking to move his case to federal court, also pleaded not guilty and waived his arraignment in a court filing Tuesday.
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Georgia law gives criminal defendants the right to waive their in-person appearance and enter a not guilty plea through paperwork.
All 19 defendants, including Trump, previously appeared at the Fulton County Jail in August to have their booking photos and fingerprints scanned.
