- A federal judge rejected former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ request for an emergency stay of a ruling that sent his election interference case in Georgia back to state court.
- Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s last chief of staff, had asked U.S. District Judge Steve Jones to stay his sentence pending an appeal.
- Meadows has also requested an emergency stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, arguing that Jones “made a monumental error.”
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows listens to a question from a member of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.
Chris Kleponis | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A federal judge rejected former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ request for an emergency stay of a ruling that sent his election interference case in Georgia back to state court, a court filing showed Wednesday.
Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s last chief of staff, had asked U.S. District Judge Steve Jones to stay his sentence pending an appeal to a higher court.
But Jones sided with Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis, who on Tuesday asked the judge to reject Meadows’ latest move in his ongoing push to move his case to federal court.
Meadows “has not established that he is entitled to an emergency stay,” Jones ruled in a Tuesday order that was posted Wednesday morning in the U.S. District Court docket in Atlanta.
Jones on Friday rejected Meadows’ initial attempt to move Georgia’s sprawling RICO case from Fulton County to federal court.
Meadows has also asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to grant an emergency stay, arguing that Jones made an “egregious error” in refusing to transfer the case to federal court. The appeals court has not yet ruled on Meadows’ motion but ordered Willis to respond by midday Wednesday.
Willis’ 41 counts in Fulton County Superior Court accuse Trump, Meadows and 17 other co-defendants of being part of an illegal conspiracy aimed at overturning President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election in Georgia.
Meadows is charged with one count each of violating Georgia’s racketeering law and soliciting a public officer to violate his oath. Meadows, Trump and their co-defendants have all pleaded not guilty.
At least four other defendants are seeking to move their cases from Fulton County, which includes Atlanta and voted overwhelmingly for Biden in 2020.
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Meadows’ lawyers have argued in federal district and appeals courts that he could face “irreparable harm” because his case could go to trial and result in his conviction and imprisonment before his appeal is completed.
Trials for two other co-defendants are scheduled for late October, and Meadows’ lawyers said prosecutors would seek the same schedule for him.
But in his most recent ruling, Jones wrote that Meadows’ arguments were not intended to “persuade this court that its decision was wrong.”
And Meadows failed to show “more than the possibility of irreparable harm in the absence of a reprieve,” which was not enough, Jones wrote.
The judge added: “No trial date has been set for Meadows and he acknowledges that there is no guarantee that his trial will take place in October.”
