Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff during Donald Trump’s presidency, is making an attempt to get his case of violating Georgia’s RICO act and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath transferred to federal court. As reported, Meadows was charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for his misconduct but has sought to shift the prosecution of his case from local to federal jurisdiction. He maintains that his actions were part of his official duties.
In comparison to Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to move his New York state indictment to a federal court, which was based on the claim that his presidency was a significant factor in the Stormy Daniels hush money payment, Meadow’s position holds some more credibility. He filed a motion suggesting he was simply performing his official role when he proposed campaign funds to accelerate the signature verification process in Georgia. However, this claim raises eyebrows as it could be viewed as arguably inappropriate.
Meadows supplemented his actions with a motion to dismiss the Georgia case completely, stating immunity from state prosecution under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. He disputes that his work as chief of staff, which involved gathering information and advising the president, was a fundamental cause of his alleged involvement in the scheme to unlawfully win Georgia’s 16 electors for Trump.
Despite his claims, his position is somewhat undermined by his collateral declaration that the incident must be dismissed as it was campaign activity, and therefore protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. This suggests that if his actions were definitely political activity, they could not be part of his official duties and should not be the basis for a shift to federal court.
The case, now assigned to Judge Steven Jones, is set for hearing on August 28. Meadows has opposed any delay to this date, although, there is an expectation that former Justice Department lawyer Jeff Clark, also involved in the state indictment, might file a notice of removal. There is a certain degree of uncertainty around the actions that Trump, the only other former federal official charged in the Georgia case, might take.
Prosecutors from Fulton County are expected to respond to Meadows’s plea for transfer to federal court by Wednesday. For more details on this evolving legal situation, you can follow the case as it progress here.