ATLANTA (CN) — Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff and one of Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case, testified Monday that his trial should be moved to federal court.
Meadows, who was not required to testify at the evidentiary hearing, took the stand for nearly three hours in his first public defense of his actions on behalf of the former president following the 2020 presidential election.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Meadows argued that his case on the racketeering indictment should be transferred from state court to federal court because he was acting in his capacity as a government official at the time.
Prosecutors argued in their response Friday that the charges against Meadows in the case “rose directly out of his disregard for the lawful scope of his official duties” and that “federal law prohibits any employee of the executive branch from staying away from us.”[ing] use his official authority or influence to interfere or influence the outcome of an election.’”
During the hearing, overseen by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones, Meadows answered questions from his attorney George Terdlinger III and Fulton County District Attorney Anna Cross.
The 62-year-old did not deny the actions described in the indictment, which prosecutors say were carried out in sponsorship of a “criminal enterprise” to reverse Trump’s defeat of Georgia State President Joe Biden and others. He said that all of his acts, which the indictment calls “open acts,” had a “state context” and that he undertook each act as the president’s chief adviser.
Meadows acted as “the president’s ear,” saying his job is to manage Trump’s schedule and attend meetings and phone calls of a political nature.
For example, Meadows admitted to attending Trump’s now-infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the former president asked him to “find 11,780 votes” he needed for victory in the state need is an important piece of evidence used by the prosecution in this case. However, Meadows claimed he was unaware that three attorneys were also involved in the call. These attorneys — Cleta Mitchell, Alex Kaufman, and Kurt Hilbert — filed a campaign lawsuit against Raffensperger, which was dismissed by a federal judge.
Meadows said there is a federal interest in “free and fair elections” and proper administration of state elections, but has repeatedly claimed ignorance of Trump campaign efforts to contest the election results.
When asked about his presence at a meeting between Trump and Pennsylvania lawmakers at the White House cited in the indictment, at which the former president discussed overturning his loss in the US Supreme Court, Meadows testified that he was there had been to inform three of the MPs that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was unable to see the President.
Prosecutors also repeatedly pressed Meadows as to why he made a surprise visit to a greater Atlanta facility in December 2020 to observe Georgia’s verification of mail ballot envelope signatures and ask questions about the process. Investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and then-State Department checked envelopes to verify voter signatures matched signatures on files.
Meadows insisted his visit was because Trump had concerns about the recount and that he was already traveling to Georgia to visit family for Christmas.
He did not dispute the content of a text message provided by prosecutors, in which he asked an aide to the Georgia Secretary of State if “there was a way to expedite the Fulton County signature verification process to allow for a Trump inauguration before June 6.” January.” However, he said there was an error in the indictment: the December 2020 message was sent to the bureau’s chief of staff, Jordan Fuchs, and not to chief investigator Frances Watson as claimed.
At least four witnesses, all of whom interacted directly with Meadows after the 2020 election, were subpoenaed to testify at the hearing, including Raffensperger and Watson and two Trump campaign attorneys.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who secured the indictment Aug. 14 after a two-year investigation, did not attend the hearing, but at least six members of her law enforcement team were present.
Both parties put their arguments aside late Monday. Judge Jones has not indicated when he will release a decision.
Meadows faces two charges: violating the Georgia State Anticrime Act and inciting a public official to breach an oath, which constitutes a felony. If his case goes to federal court, it will be overseen by Jones, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, rather than Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp this year.
Three other defendants — former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, former Georgia Republican Party leader David Shafer and former Coffee County Republican Party leader Cathy Latham — have also filed motions to have their cases moved to federal court.
A trial in federal court would allow for a larger pool of jurors, drawn from across the state’s Northern District, compared to a Fulton County jury of Atlanta residents, who voted 73% for President Joe Biden and 26% for Trump have voted .
Should any of the cases be referred to federal court, criminal charges would continue to be filed under state law; and if convicted, Meadows and the other defendants would be punished under state law. Their sentences would be non-pardonable under federal law.
Meadows turned himself in at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday and was released on $100,000 bail just hours before Trump’s surrender.
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