Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is requesting the Supreme Court to intervene in his Georgia election interference case to move it to the federal court system. Despite losing prior attempts to transfer the case, Meadows is hoping to use the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity to his advantage. His team argues that the need for a federal forum is crucial to resolve novel questions regarding the duties and powers of an important federal officeholder.
Meadows is among 19 individuals charged in an election racketeering case by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, including former President Donald Trump. The charges against Meadows include solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and infringing upon the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. He has pleaded not guilty but has been trying to move the case to the federal level for access to more legal tools. Despite previous rejections by a district judge and a three-judge panel on the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, Meadows is pressing for the case to be heard in federal court.
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals highlighted that a president’s chief of staff does not have unlimited authority and that Meadows cannot shield himself with claims of official responsibilities while disavowing his knowledge of forbidden election activities. Meadows’ legal team remains confident that if the case is transferred to the federal system, they may have a better chance at succeeding with an immunity claim. In their petition to the Supreme Court, Meadows’ lawyers criticized the appeals court’s ruling as wrongful and dangerous, emphasizing the importance of a federal officer’s status at the time of conduct in question.
The Fulton County case is at a standstill as the Georgia Court of Appeals reviews an ethics challenge regarding Willis’ involvement in the case. Pretrial motions are progressing for smaller parties, but some key figures involved, such as Trump and Meadows, are waiting for the challenge against Willis to be resolved. The challenge seeks to disqualify Willis due to an alleged improper relationship with a former top prosecutor in the case. The Supreme Court recently determined that a president enjoys absolute immunity for official acts while in office, with some level of presumptive immunity, but it has yet to decide if this extends to Trump’s federal 2020 election case.
President Biden has proposed Supreme Court reforms, including a call for a constitutional amendment to abolish presidential immunity. Meadows remains determined to shift his case to the federal court system, citing the urgent need for a federal forum due to the gravity of questions surrounding the duties of a federal officeholder. Despite facing charges in the election interference case, Meadows continues to push for immunity through the federal court system, believing it offers a better chance at defeating the charges against him. The case in Fulton County remains unresolved as the legal challenges and ethics concerns surrounding Willis create delays in the pretrial process for the defendants involved.
