ATLANTA — A federal judge denied former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ request to have his Georgia election case moving to federal court on Friday. Meadows must fight the charges in state court.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued the ruling following a hearing last week, according to The Associated Press. Jones asked for additional information and made his decision to deny Meadows’ request.
Meadows was one of five defendants who filed motions to move the case to federal court and former President Donald Trump is expected to do the same, CNN reported.
Meadows argued that the case should be moved to federal court because the allegations in the indictment were in relation to his duties as White House chief of staff but he was unsuccessful, according to CNN. Meadows’ lawyers wanted the case in federal court in hopes of it getting dismissed after “invoking federal immunity.” Meadows’ case will now proceed in Fulton County Superior Court, The Washington Post reported.
Trump, Meadows, and 17 co-defendants were indicted last month by a grand jury in Fulton County on charges related to a scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump’s presidential election loss in 2020 in Georgia, according to the AP. All 19 have pleaded not guilty.
Jones’ decision could set a tone for the other defendants who have been trying to move their cases, CNN reported. It was also the first major ruling in the Georgia case, according to the Post.
Meadows was charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act and solicitation of a violation of oath by a public officer. He turned himself in on Aug. 24 to authorities in Fulton County.
In the indictment, authorities said Meadows tried to get Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to change the state’s election results to favor Trump. President Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by an 11,779-vote margin, WSB reported.
Meadows organized a phone call between Raffensperger and Trump in January 2021 in which the former president urged him to “find” enough votes to overturn his election loss, WSB reported.
