A federal judge has rejected Mark Meadows’ attempt to move his criminal case from state to federal court, dealing a blow to the former chief of staff of Donald Trump and his co-defendants who are accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
US district judge Steve Jones ruled on Friday that Meadows’ actions were not part of his official duties as Trump’s top White House aide, but rather part of a conspiracy to pressure election officials in Georgia to change the vote count in favor of Trump, who lost the state to Democratic president Joe Biden.
The former White House chief of staff is charged with arranging calls and meetings in which prosecutors say Trump asked Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to “find” enough votes to give him the state.
{{/usCountry}}The former White House chief of staff is charged with arranging calls and meetings in which prosecutors say Trump asked Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to “find” enough votes to give him the state.
{{/usCountry}}He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors had argued that those acts were not “necessary and proper” for a US president and his chief of staff, but Meadows claimed they were within his scope of work.
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The law allows a defendant to have their case heard in federal court if the charges against them stem from their official duties.
He could appeal the ruling.
The 64-year-old could have benefited from a more favorable jury pool in federal court, which draws from a larger and more politically diverse area than Fulton County, Georgia, the Democratic stronghold where the case was filed.
Moving to federal court would have also allowed Meadows to argue that he was immune from state prosecution because he was carrying out his duties as a federal official.
Meadows, Trump, and 17 others were indicted in August by Fulton County prosecutors.
They allege that they conspired to influence state officials to alter Georgia’s election result in Trump’s favor and to undermine the electoral college, a largely ceremonial body that formally elects the president.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. He has also said that the criminal case and three others he faces are part of a political plot aimed at preventing him from retaking the White House in the November 2024 election.
The former president is also under indictment in Florida for his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, in Washington DC for his efforts to overturn the election, and in New York over a hush money payment he paid to a porn star.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all three cases.