A federal district court in the United States rejected the request of Mark Meadows, former Chief of Staff in the Trump White House, to move two Georgia state criminal charges against him to federal court on Friday. The court’s decision came after Meadows asked for his charges to be transferred under the 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) statute. This provision allows a US federal officer to remove state civil or criminal actions to federal court under certain circumstances, namely, when the actions take place while the individual is acting within their official duties.
However, Judge Steve C. Jones did not find Meadows’ arguments convincing. Specifically, the judge noted that Meadows failed to clearly identify and explain the limits and extent of his official duties while serving as White House Chief of Staff. The judge highlighted that Meadows struggled to highlight any specific duties that would have given him the right to participate in election-related activities. As a result, Judge Jones concluded, Meadows “cannot have acted in his role as a federal officer” in relation to any alleged efforts to influence, interfere, or disrupt state elections.
To date, Meadows has been indicted by a grand jury on two Georgia state criminal charges. The first charge is a violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. This charge relates to Meadows’ alleged attempts to observe a closed-door vote audit and his communications with elected officials in an effort to support Trump’s unfounded assertions about election fraud. The second charge is based on the solicitation of a violation of oath by a public officer, which originated from a phone call between Meadows and the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger.
Despite the court order, Meadows has the option to appeal. This marks the first of a series of similar requests, including a possible plea from Trump himself, to remove thirteen Georgia state criminal charges against him to federal court.