Trump Co-Defendant Handed Key Legal Loss in Georgia Election Case

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks during a news briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. A federal appeals court refused to transfer Meadows’ Fulton County criminal case to federal court.

Former White House Chief of Staff and Trump co-defendant Mark Meadows was handed a key legal loss by an appeals court on Wednesday, leaving him with the U.S. Supreme Court as his only remaining option.

The full bench of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Meadows’ request to have the entire court rehear his appeal as he continues to find a way to move his Fulton County criminal case to federal court.

“The Petition for Rehearing En Banc is DENIED, no judge in regular active service on the Court having requested that the Court be polled on rehearing en banc,” the order read.

Meadows was indicted along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other co-defendants last August as part of the sweeping RICO case being prosecuted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Trump and his allies are being tried under the state’s broad criminal racketeering laws for their alleged efforts to help the former president overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

Four other co-defendants have also asked for the cases against them to be moved to federal court: Former Justice Department official Jeff Clark, former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer, state Senator Shawn Still and local Republican official Cathleen Latham. So far, none of the bids have been successful.

Four other defendants, including Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall and former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis, will not be tried because they pleaded guilty.

Newsweek reached out to Meadows’ attorney, Paul Clement, via email for comment on Wednesday.

The federal appeals court rejected Meadows’ bid to move his case in December, affirming a lower court decision keeping it in state court and finding that “the events giving rise to this criminal action were not related to Meadows’s official duties.”

Meadows, who then asked for the full bench to reconsider his appeal, is seeking removal of his case based on a law that removes criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official acting under their office.

The removal of his case was expected to be a precursor to having the charges against Meadow thrown out based on the argument that he’s immune from charges related to his duties as a former federal officer. Trump’s own immunity claim is making its way through the courts.

Plus, if a trial were still to proceed in federal court, Meadows would be hoping for a broader jury pool that would likely be friendlier to Trump and his allies than one in Fulton County. President Joe Biden carried the county with 73 percent of the vote in 2020.

Wednesday’s decision leaves Meadows with the only option of appealing to the Supreme Court—a move that had been expected with the hiring of three new attorneys to Meadows’ legal team. Criminal defense lawyer Meg Strickler told WXIA in Atlanta last month that the additions of Clement, Erin Murphy and Zachary Lustbader was a sign that Meadows plans to take his case to the high court.

Clement, who was nominated for U.S. solicitor general by President George W. Bush, is well known for arguing cases on behalf of many conservative causes, including dozens before the Supreme Court. Last month, he argued Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a major case that could overrule the Chevron precedent, before the justices. In 2022, he won New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which resulted in a landmark decision that struck down New York’s gun laws.

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