CNN
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to move Mark Meadows’ Georgia election destruction case to federal court, allowing the former chief of staff during Donald Trump’s first term to claim immunity from those charges. It was actually forbidden.
Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff during the latter half of his term, was charged with extortion in connection with calls and meetings in Fulton County, Georgia, last year in which Trump called for changes from state officials. He was charged with a crime and other charges. 2020 state election results. Mr. Meadows has maintained his innocence, and Mr. Trump was reelected for a second term in last week’s election.
Meadows wanted his case to be heard in federal court rather than state court so he could claim immunity there.
Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger III, said he still believes Meadows can fight for immunity because the case has federal jurisdiction.
“We are confident that ultimately Mr. Meadows’ constitutional immunity under the Supremacy Clause will lead to his acquittal on these politically motivated state charges. The Supreme Court will hear this case. Not doing so only means that he must continue to assert his rights and substantial innocence in state court for the foreseeable future,” Terwilliger said in a statement Tuesday.
“Meanwhile, by allowing the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to stand, all former federal employees, including soon-to-be-retired ones, will be able to, without any basis, You’re at risk of being at the mercy of district attorneys and state legislatures.” It’s been 200 years since federal courts have been accessible for fair hearings. ”
The Atlanta-based Eleventh Circuit ruled last year that Georgia’s charges against Meadows should continue in state court, allowing the former federal employee to “transfer” his state case against the government employee to federal court. It concluded that it was not subject to the Act. Importantly, Chief Justice William Pryor’s opinion also stated that “the events giving rise to this criminal proceeding were not related to Meadows’ official duties.”
Meadows is seeking a different form of immunity than the one the Supreme Court granted Trump earlier this year, but his appeal still relies heavily on the court’s divisive ruling in July. . In this decision, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority relied in part on the idea that the president’s power would be thwarted if he were to be prosecuted for official acts immediately after his term ended.
“This court has reiterated that the threat posed by prosecution of federal employees for conduct related to federal functions does not disappear after the federal employee leaves federal employment,” Meadows’ lawyers said this summer. told the Supreme Court on appeal. “It is not a close call that the White House Chief of Staff faces criminal charges based on conduct related to the work of the President of the United States.”
However, the Supreme Court denied immunity for unofficial acts, and lower courts found that Meadows’ acts of agency were unrelated to his official duties.
Meadows’ case has raised concerns that “unscrupulous prosecutors” are pursuing baseless charges against former federal officials, but Georgia prosecutors say the possibility is “completely ‘hypothetical.’ “It remains at that level,” he claimed. “The heated words of an op-ed editorial are not enough to prove that a new era of ubiquitous prosecution of former federal employees is on the horizon,” they wrote in the high court.
The Georgia case has stalled while the Court of Appeals considers ethics complaints against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis, a Democrat, also won re-election last week.
Meadows also tried to move a criminal case related to the 2020 Arizona election to federal court, but was unsuccessful in convincing a judge in September.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Caitlin Polantz contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional details.
