An appeals court may be Mark Meadows’ 'final chance' to move Georgia RICO prosecution to federal court
Of the four criminal prosecutions that former President Donald Trump is facing, two are federal and two are in individual states (one in Georgia, one in New York State). It isn't hard to understand why some of Trump's supporters would like to see the state cases moved to the federal courts: They're hoping that Trump would be able to pardon himself if he wins the 2024 election and returns to the White House in January 2025.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, one of Trump's many co-defendants in Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference case, has been trying to get his prosecution moved to the federal courts.
So far, he has been unsuccessful. District Judge Steve Jones denied Meadows' request in September, but The Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports that on Friday, December 15, a federal appeals court is "expected to consider" it.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?
"The appeal before Judges William Pryor, Robin Rosenbaum and Nancy Abudu — George W. Bush, Obama and Biden appointees — marks possibly the final chance for Meadows to have his case transferred, a move that would give him key advantages at trial as well as affect the case against Donald Trump," Lowell explains.
Some of Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election interference/RICO case have taken plea deals, including former Trump attorneys Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, and agreed to fully cooperate with the Fulton County DA's Office in order to stay out of prison. Lowell notes, however, that Willis' team has expressed no interest in offering Meadows a plea deal.
"Removing the case from Fulton County Superior Court to Federal District Court would bring Meadows the ancillary benefit of his criminal case eventually reaching the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court," Lowell reports. "It could also undercut the RICO case as a whole, which would benefit Trump. Meadows was charged with violating Georgia's racketeering statute and for setting up the infamous 2 January 2021 phone call between Trump and the Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, where Trump pressed Raffensperger to 'find' 11,780 votes so he could win the battleground state."
READ MORE: 'Tightrope': How Mark Meadows is trying to avoid prison without alienating Trump loyalists
Read The Guardian's full report at this link.
