Just earlier this week, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia made great strides and managed to indict former President Donald Trump along with 18 others for suspected attempts to manipulate the results of the state’s 16 electoral votes in the 2020 election. Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, quickly sprang into action and filed a motion to have the case moved to federal court under 28 U.S. Code § 1455.
While Trump himself has been vocally criticising Fulton County District Attorney on his Truth Social account, Meadows moved to remove the case from Fulton Superior Court. He intends to plead for dismissal of the allegations based on the Supremacy Clause.
In his motion, Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger III, relies on rightwing talking points as he downplays the allegations against Meadows as typical actions a Chief of Staff would undertake. His actions however raise suspicions as he allegedly coordinated Trump’s efforts to coerce state legislators and local officials into diverting electoral votes away from Joe Biden.
The claim further complicates as Meadows allegedly offered financial assistance for the Trump campaign to Brad Raffensperger’s chief investigator. His intention was clearly to expedite the signature verification process in Fulton County in favour of an outcome that benefits Trump.
Esteemed law professor, Lee Kovarsky of the University of Texas, expressed on Twitter that successful arguments in defence of federal defendants could have a ripple effect and apply to all co-defendants, irrespective of their employment with the federal government.
If the move to federal court gets through, it may not change the prosecution of the case under Georgia law, as expressed by Anna Bower from Lawfare on NBC’s Chris Hayes show.
A shift to federal court could present a fresher set of complications, as it puts the case onto Judge Steven Jones’ docket, an Obama appointee, though it would allow an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit and, ultimately, the Supreme Court.
Sourced from: Above The Law