Mark Meadows seeks to move Trump case from Georgia state court to federal court

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff to Donald Trump, filed a motion Tuesday seeking to move the criminal case against him as a co-conspirator of the former president from a state court in Georgia to federal court.

Meadows was named along with Trump and 17 other defendants in a sweeping organized crime indictment handed up by a grand jury in Fulton County, Ga., on Monday. He is the highest government official other than Trump charged in any of the current four cases against the former president.

He was charged under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute and with soliciting an official to violate their oath of office because of his presence on the infamous "find" votes call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Meadows has filed to move the case from the Fulton County Superior Court to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, court records obtained by UPI show.

"Mr. Meadows has the right to remove this matter. The conduct giving rise to the charges in the indictment all occurred during his tenure and as part of his service as Chief of Staff," his filing reads.

Lawyers for Meadows cited the U.S. legal code that allows for criminal prosecution of an officer of a U.S. agency in a state court to a federal court for acts carried out "under the color of such office."

In order for the motion to be granted, the judge will have to agree that Meadows was acting in his official capacity when he allegedly participated in Trump's attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

"Nothing Mr. Meadows is alleged in the indictment to have done is criminal per se: arranging Oval Office meetings, contacting state officials on the president's behalf, visiting a state government building, and setting up a phone call for the president," the motion reads.

"One would expect a chief of staff to the president of the United States to do these sorts of things. And they have far less to do with the interests of state law than, for example, murder charges that have been successfully removed."

Lawyers for Meadows added that, if his bid to move the case out of state court is successful, he will then file a motion to dismiss the indictment "as soon as feasible," claiming that he has federal immunity under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution

"Mr. Meadows, in his role as chief of staff, arranged a phone call between the president and Georgia officials, including the Secretary of State and the Chief Investigator," his lawyers admit in the filing.

"These and the other acts that form the basis for the charges against Mr. Meadows all fall squarely within his conduct as chief of staff.

"Meadows was previously ordered by a federal judge to speak before a special grand jury impaneled to carry out an investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.