Meadows’ bid to move state racketeering case to federal court denied by judge.
A Victory for Fulton County: Judge Rejects Meadows’s Motion
A federal judge has delivered a blow to former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows by rejecting his motion to hear state racketeering charges from Georgia in federal court.
This ruling is a significant win for Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, who initiated the racketeering prosecution.
Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia made the decision at the end of the business day on Sept. 8, stating that he lacked jurisdiction in the matter and that the case should be sent back to Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta.
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Judge Jones, who was appointed in 2011 by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, issued a 49-page order explaining his decision. He concluded that Meadows had not met the burden of proof required for removal of the state’s criminal prosecution and therefore declined to assume jurisdiction over the case.
This ruling comes after the judge requested additional briefing from the defense and state prosecutors regarding the possibility of hearing the case in federal court if Meadows’s actions were protected by federal law.
The judge’s decision also follows a hearing held on Aug. 28, during which he heard testimony from witnesses, including Meadows and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican.
This case has garnered significant attention as it marks the first time substantive arguments have been presented in court in any of the four criminal cases brought against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants this year.
Many view the motion for removal to federal court as a mini-trial for President Trump and his co-defendants, speculating that Meadows’s treatment 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 in Georgia.
Several co-defendants have also filed notices of removal in Judge Jones’s court, and President Trump himself filed a notice on Sept. 7 indicating his potential intention to seek removal to federal court.
Judge Jones’s latest ruling may suggest that he is not inclined to grant the other removal motions.
In his previous motion, Meadows argued that his involvement in the disputed presidential election in Georgia was connected to his role as a White House official, and therefore, his case should be tried in federal court.
Meadows claimed immunity from state prosecution under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which prioritizes federal law over state law. Essentially, he contended that he could not be prosecuted in state court because his actions were performed in his official capacity.
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