Mark Meadows appeals federal judge's decision to leave his Georgia case in state court

Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff indicted in Georgia with Donald Trump, has filed notice he will appeal a judge's refusal to move his case from state to federal court, seeking an urgent ruling before any potential verdict in state court.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled Friday that Meadows hadn't met his burden to move the case and that the state has express constitutional authority to determine election procedures.

Meadows filed a notice of appeal on Friday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and paid the fee Monday, according to court records posted Monday. But his lawyers haven't yet detailed the arguments they will make on appeal.

Meadows asked for an expedited appeal and argued that Jones should freeze the implications of his decision leaving the case in state court until the appeal is resolved, to protect Meadows from receiving a state verdict before the appeals case is resolved.

Meadows' lawyers argued that if the state court reached a verdict before the appeals court eventually rules that case should have been moved to federal court, the case could become "a shuttlecock batted back and forth between state and federal court" and raise a "rat's nest" of issues about federalism.

"The rights Meadows asserts 'would be effectively nullified' if the prosecution goes forward during this appeal," his lawyer, John Moran, argued in a filing. "For the State to proceed to trial and seek to impose a verdict, it would give rise to the very 'chilling effect' that federal law goes out of its way to protect against."

Jones gave Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis until noon Tuesday to make her arguments about freezing the case.

At least five of the 19 co-defendants in the case have asked to move their trials from Fulton County Superior Court to federal court. Trump has filed that he may make a similar request.

Meadows and the others have argued they should be protected from state-level charges because they served in federal posts for the acts in the indictment. Jeffrey Clark was an assistant attorney general and three others were Republican presidential electors who met to support Trump despite President Joe Biden winning the state: Georgia Republican Chairman David Shafer, state Sen. Shawn Still and Cathy Latham.

Meadows is charged with racketeering and with soliciting Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to violate his oath of office during a call Jan. 2, 2021, when Trump asked him to "find" enough votes to win the state.

Jones said that to establish a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations conspiracy, overt acts taken by the participants in the criminal enterprise can be used to illustrate participation in the conspiracy.

The indictment mentions Meadows attending a White House meeting with Trump and Michigan lawmakers, sending messages to Pennsylvania lawmakers, requesting a memo regarding “disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021,” visiting a non-public audit of Georgia voting and arranging the Raffensperger call, Jones noted.

"The Court would be ignoring the evidence Meadows himself submitted of his post-election related activities and the purpose of the federal officer removal statute," Jones wrote in his 49-page decision. "It would be legally and factually erroneous for the Court to do so."

Meadows asked to move his case to federal court by arguing the actions he was charged for − setting up calls, contacting state officials − were part of his job as White House chief of staff. He also asked the charges should be dismissed in federal court for the same reason.

But the prosecutor, Willis, argued Meadows was committing crimes as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy beyond his official duties to help Trump overturn the 2020 election.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark Meadows appeals decision keeping Georgia case in state court