Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Donald Trump Seek to Move Georgia Election Conspiracy Case to Federal Court

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, along with 18 other defendants, including Donald Trump, has been charged with participating in a criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Meadows and Trump are now attempting to move their cases to federal court, which may provide some advantages for the defendants. Successfully transferring the cases to federal court could delay the proceedings and potentially grant them a more sympathetic jury pool. It could also allow for challenges to Georgia’s RICO statute, which has been used by the District Attorney Fani Willis. However, the possibility of a successful removal bid and its implications are still unclear, as there is limited precedent for criminal removal cases with multiple defendants. Willis, who plans to try all 19 defendants together, will likely fight against the removal request. Meadows argues that his alleged actions were performed as part of his job as White House chief of staff and should be transferred to a federal court. District Judge Steve Jones has scheduled a hearing for August 28 to address the issue. Other defendants, such as Rudy Giuliani, have also indicated they may make similar removal claims. While Trump’s arguments for removal in the Georgia case may be stronger than those in his New York hush money case, they are not expected to be ironclad. Legal experts believe that the argument will have to be heard in federal court.