The full bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit — meaning all judges serving on that court — denied this week another attempt by ex-Trump White House official Mark Meadows to move the handling of Georgia criminal charges against him to federal court. Meadows had one last opportunity for action — at the U.S. Supreme Court — following the rejection.
Whether Meadows or one of the other co-defendants from the underlying case, in which Trump is also charged, the idea of moving the handling of these criminal proceedings to federal courts involves showing that actions at the center of the dispute were originally carried out as part of federal duties. The case alleges a conspiracy targeting Georgia’s election results from 2020.
When ex-Justice Department official and co-defendant Jeffrey Clark lost previously amid his own attempts to secure the same venue transfer, a three-judge panel on the same appeals court that rejected Meadows was decisive. “Former federal officers may not invoke the federal-officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). Georgia v. Meadows, No. 23-12958, at 10 (11th Cir. 2023),” the federal judges said. “So Clark cannot show any chance of success on the merits. Without even a chance of success on the merits, there can be no basis for granting a stay. We therefore deny his motion.”
The criminal case has recently been mired in allegations of a conflict of interest on prosecutors’ part in light of a past romantic relationship between District Attorney Fani Willis and a member of her team. Trump is extensively promoting claims of a glaring conflict.
Meanwhile, Trump is pursuing his own arguments of protections stemming from an official role, alleging before now the U.S. Supreme Court that he holds wide-ranging legal immunity by virtue of merely serving as president that should stop the criminal case he is facing for alleged schemes after the 2020 presidential election. The nation’s highest court agreed this week to hear additional arguments, forcing another delay to the trial originally scheduled for March.
