On a recent Friday, Judge Steve Jones returned Mark Meadows’s case to Fulton County Superior Court, rejecting Meadows’s attempt to transfer his Georgia RICO case to federal court. Meadows posited that his alleged interference with the presidential election fell under his official duties as White House Chief of Staff; however, Judge Jones deemed no federal jurisdiction applicable as the charged conduct did not fall within Meadows’s official role.
The very day, Meadows swiftly appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, in addition to filing motions to suspend the remand order in both the trial and appellate courts. The primary effect of such a stay remains uncertain, as state prosecutions continue, with the exception of any final judgment, until jurisdiction is assumed by another court. In the event of a prolonged decision from the court, Meadows has sought an injunction on the state prosecution to “prevent the irreparable loss of Meadows’s rights.”
Meadows criticized the lower court’s decision as a severe mistake, explicitly labeling Judge Jones’s decision as “clearly erroneous”, and asked for an expedited briefing schedule that could hasten a ruling by the end of the month. The panel, not yet named, concurred, instructed DA Willis’s office to respond by the following midday. However, they inserted a peculiar twist of their own by instructing the parties to brief an issue that was never raised below:
They queried if Meadows, a former federal official, has the authority to transfer his case at all. The distinction arises between § 1442(a)(1), which permits a current federal officer to effect civil or criminal removal “for any act under color of such office,” and § 1442(b), which allows for removal of civil suits when the defendant “is, or at the time the alleged action accrued was, a civil officer of the United States.”
If the panel indeed determines that criminal removal protection is unavailable to former federal employees, Meadows’s case could face serious hurdles. This verdict would also affect former DOJ attorney Jeff Clark and the three phony electors indicted in Fulton County, who are all pursuing federal removal. It would even spell trouble for Donald Trump, who has been waiting to capitalize on a successful removal by Meadows.
Meadows is certain of an expedited review, but the tide might turn if the court rules that former federal officials charged with state crimes have no remedy. In such a case, he might just be out of options. More information about the case can be found on the docket for the State of Georgia v. Meadows and Eleventh Circuit Docket via Court Listener.