Federal Court orders additional briefing from attorneys in Mark Meadows case.
Federal Judge Orders Additional Briefing on Georgia Racketeering Charges
The federal judge overseeing former Trump aide Mark Meadows’s motion to have Georgia racketeering charges related to the 2020 presidential election heard in federal court has issued a new order. The order, issued by federal Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia, requires attorneys in the case to provide an additional briefing on the state’s racketeering law.
This development comes after Meadows argued that his involvement in the disputed presidential election in Georgia was related to his job as a White House official, and therefore, his case should be tried in federal court.
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Judge Jones adjourned the federal removal hearing on Aug. 28 after hearing several hours of testimony from witnesses. He stated that he needed to research certain points of law and would aim to issue a ruling before Sept. 6. However, if he fails to do so, Meadows will have to report to state court on that day for arraignment.
In the new order, Judge Jones noted that the racketeering count against Meadows includes several overt acts attributed to him. The order poses the question of whether a finding that at least one of these overt acts occurred under the color of Meadows’s office would be sufficient for federal removal of a criminal prosecution.
The attorneys representing Meadows and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis have been directed to respond to the court by Aug. 31 at 5 p.m.
Meadows argues that he is immune from state prosecution under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which prioritizes federal law over state law. He contends that he cannot be prosecuted in state court because any actions he took were done in his official capacity as a federal officer, and he has federal defenses available to him.
Bellwether Case
This hearing is of great significance as it marks the first time substantive arguments have been presented in court for any of the four criminal cases brought against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants this year.
Many view this hearing as a mini-trial for President Trump and his co-defendants, speculating that the treatment Meadows receives in federal court will set the tone for the other Trump-related prosecutions.
President Trump, Meadows, and 17 co-defendants were indicted by a state grand jury in Fulton County on Aug. 14 in relation to the former chief executive’s challenge to the election.
Prosecutors have focused on a Jan. 2, 2021, telephone conversation between President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. They allege that President Trump and others unlawfully attempted to interfere in the electoral process. Charges against the defendants range from violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to soliciting the violation of an oath by a public officer.
Meadows himself is charged with one count of violating the Georgia RICO Act and one count of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer.
The indictment specifically alleges that on Jan. 2, 2021, Meadows unlawfully solicited, requested, and importuned Raffensperger to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense of Violation of Oath by Public Officer. It further claims that Meadows unlawfully altered, adjusted, and influenced the certified returns for presidential electors for the November 3, 2020, election in Georgia.
The defendants are accused of violating the Georgia RICO Act from Nov. 4, 2020, to Sept. 15, 2022, through a pattern of racketeering activity.
During the removal hearing on Aug. 28, Act 19, which referred to a December 2020 meeting with White House staffer John McEntee, was discussed. President Trump and Meadows allegedly asked for a strategy memorandum to disrupt and delay the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. The indictment claims that the strategy involved Vice President Mike Pence counting only half of the electoral votes from certain states and returning the remaining electoral votes to state legislatures.
Meadows stated that he did not recall this act and would have been surprised if he had been involved in it, as it would have been handled by White House counsel. He also noted that McEntee, who dealt with personnel matters, was not a lawyer.
The indictment al
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