A judge on Friday denied former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ bid to move the Georgia criminal case against him to federal court, ruling that his alleged involvement in efforts to pressure state leaders to overturn the 2020 election results was not part of his official duties as a government official.
U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones issued the ruling after holding a hearing on the matter in Atlanta federal court last week that included five hours of testimony from Meadows, who, along with former President Donald Trump was charged last month in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ sweeping election interference case.
“The Court concludes that Meadows has not shown that the actions that triggered the State’s prosecution related to his federal office,” Jones wrote, adding, “Meadows’ alleged association with post-election activities was not related to his role as White House Chief of Staff or his executive branch authority.”
State prosecutors, Jones said, had “put forth evidence that at various points during the time of the alleged conspiracy Meadows worked with the Trump campaign, which he admitted was outside of the role of the White House Chief of Staff.”
“In light of the State’s evidence that Meadows undertook actions on behalf of the campaign during the time period of the alleged conspiracy, Meadows was required to come forward with competent proof of his factual contention that his actions involving challenges to the outcome of the Georgia’s Presidential election results were within his role as Chief of Staff. His efforts fall short,” the judge wrote.
Meadows later notified the court that he would appeal the ruling. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.
To date, five of the 19 defendants in the DA’s case have moved to have their case heard in federal court. In a court filing this week, Trump said he might…
Read the full article here
