Mark Meadows loses appeal to move election interference case to federal court

WASHINGTON — A bid by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to move his election interference case from Georgia to a federal court was rejected on Monday.

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The 47-page ruling was issued by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., The New York Times reported. The court upheld the ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones in an Atlanta federal court in September. The three-member panel said that Meadows had not demonstrated that the alleged conduct that led to his prosecution was related to his job as former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.

The appellate judges who heard the case, two Democratic appointees and one Republican, unanimously backed Jones’ ruling, according to the newspaper.

“At bottom, whatever the chief of staff’s role with respect to state election administration, that role does not include altering valid election results in favor of a particular candidate,” wrote Chief Circuit Judge William Pryor, who was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush, according to the Times.

The ruling is a victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who originally brought the case and wants to try the remaining defendants in one trial, The Associated Press reported.

Meadows argued that he was acting within the scope of his duties as White House chief of staff in 2020 and 2021, when authorities alleged that he violated Georgia’s RICO Act and solicited a public official to violate their oath as part of an effort to keep Trump in the White House. The former president lost Georgia to Biden by 11,779 votes, WSB-TV reported.

Meadows, Trump and 17 other defendants were indicted in August on felony charges in Georgia related to alleged attempts to keep Trump in office after his election loss to Joe Biden in 2020.

Meadows has pleaded not guilty to the charges, along with Trump and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Meadows was one of five defendants seeking to move his case to federal court, according to the AP. The other four defendants also had their appeals rejected by the lower court and have appeals pending before the 11th U.S. Circuit.

Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jena Ellis and Scott Hall have since taken plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.

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