Charges against Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to remain in state court as bid to move case fails
September 8, 2022 (Reuters) – In a blow to former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants, a U.S. District Judge has denied a bid by Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff, to move his case involving efforts to reverse the 2020 U.S. election results from Georgia state court to federal court. The ruling by Judge Steve Jones is seen as a victory for Fulton County prosecutors, who charged Trump and 18 others in August with conspiring to undo Trump’s election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
This ruling comes as Trump’s lawyer indicated on Thursday that Trump may also seek to move his trial from state to federal court. Meadows filed a notice of appeal later on Friday.
Meadows is accused of arranging calls and meetings where prosecutors allege that Trump pressured election officials to change the vote count in his favor, including a call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to deliver him the state, which Biden won.
Prosecutors argue that these acts were not part of a U.S. president and his chief of staff’s official duties. However, Meadows has claimed they were part of his portfolio as Trump’s top White House aide. Defendants are permitted to have their cases heard in federal court if the charges against them stem from their official duties.
Moving the case to federal court could have provided Meadows with a potentially friendlier jury pool, as federal court draws from a larger and more politically diverse area than Fulton County, which is known as a Democratic stronghold.
Moreover, a shift to federal court would have allowed Meadows to argue that he is immune from state prosecution because he was fulfilling his duties as a federal official.
Meadows, Trump, and 17 others were charged in August in a comprehensive indictment. Trump has alleged that the criminal case, along with three others he is facing, are politically motivated attempts to prevent him from regaining the White House in the 2024 election.
In addition to this case, Trump is facing criminal charges in Florida for mishandling classified documents after leaving office, in Washington for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and in New York for hush money payments made to a porn star before the 2016 election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all of these cases.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jack Queen; additional reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Dan Wallis, Will Dunham, and Noeleen Walder