Trump Ally Meadows Seeks to Move Georgia Conspiracy Case to Federal Court

Erik Larson
·2 min read
4
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows is seeking to move the Georgia criminal case against him to federal court from state court, the first such twist since the Fulton County district attorney charged both men and 17 others with trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A notice of removal was filed Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta, arguing the case should be moved because it relates to alleged conduct that occurred while Meadows was a government employee. The case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis accuses the group of violating Georgia law by conspiring to keep Trump in office after he lost the election.

“The conduct giving rise to the charges in the indictment all occurred during his tenure and as part of his service as Chief of Staff,” a lawyer for Meadows said in the filing in federal court. “In these circumstances, federal law provides for prompt removal” of criminal cases stemming from such work, the lawyer said.

Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for Willis, declined to comment.

Meadows, 64, a leading conservative voice in Congress before joining the White House, is charged with two counts of racketeering and soliciting a public official to violate their oath. He arranged and participated in the infamous Jan. 2, 2021, call in which Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780” votes, and also suggested that Raffensperger could be criminally prosecuted if he didn’t help overturn the 2020 election.

In his filing, Meadows argues the case brought by Willis is “precisely the kind of state interference” in federal matters that’s barred by the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution. He also said he did nothing wrong.

“Nothing Mr. Meadows is alleged in the indictment to have done is criminal per se: arranging Oval Office meetings, contacting state officials on the President’s behalf, visiting a state government building, and setting up a phone call for the President,” his lawyer said in the filing. “One would expect a Chief of Staff to the President of the United States to do these sorts of things.”

The case is State of Georgia v. Meadows, 1:23-cv-03621, US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta).

(Updates with detail from Meadows court filing)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.