Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is requesting the Supreme Court to intervene in his Georgia election interference case to move it into the federal court system. Despite losing previous attempts to transfer the case, Meadows is leveraging the recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity to support his petition. His team argues that a federal forum is essential to address novel questions about the duties and powers of a federal office as important as his.
Meadows is among the 19 individuals charged in the election racketeering case by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, which also involves former President Donald Trump. He faces two counts related to solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act infringements. Despite his not guilty plea, Meadows has been attempting to move the case to federal court to have more legal tools at his disposal to combat the charges, yet previous requests have been denied by lower courts.
A three-judge panel on the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision denying Meadows’ request to shift the case to the federal level, emphasizing that a president’s chief of staff does not have unfettered authority. However, Meadows’ legal team remains convinced that they can succeed with an immunity claim if the case is transferred to the federal court system. They criticize the appeals court ruling as “egregiously wrong” and “exceptionally dangerous,” arguing that the status of a federal officer at the time of the conduct should determine immunity claims.
The Georgia Court of Appeals is currently evaluating an ethics challenge regarding whether Willis can remain on the case due to alleged improper conduct. The case is in limbo pending the outcome of this challenge. While some pretrial motions have been allowed to proceed, ongoing deliberations are on hold for individuals like Trump and Meadows, who support the challenge against Willis. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity has left lingering questions about how far that immunity extends in cases like Meadows’.
President Biden has proposed Supreme Court reforms, including a call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate presidential immunity. Despite the ongoing legal challenges and turmoil surrounding the Fulton County case, the question of immunity for federal officers like Meadows remains to be definitively resolved by the Supreme Court. The attempt to transfer the case to the federal court system seems to be a critical step for Meadows and his legal team to potentially secure immunity from the charges brought against him.
