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Mark Meadows Loses Motion to Move GA Case to Federal Court

Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has lost his motion to move the Georgia state criminal case against him to federal court.

"The court finds that the color of the Office of the White House Chief of Staff did not include working with or working for the Trump campaign, except for simply coordinating the president's schedule, traveling with the president to his campaign events, and redirecting communications to the campaign."

Meadows has filed an emergency motion to appeal to the 11th Circuit. It is available here.

The Judges 49 page ruling is here. [More...]

First, to recap, Meadows is charged in state court with conspiracy to violate Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The introduction to the Georgia Indictment states:

Defendant Donald John Trump lost the United States presidential election held on November 3, 2020. One of the states he lost was Georgia. Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.

The Indictment attributes several acts of racketeering to Meadows, including, overt act 112 which as the judge notes, is the same conduct alleged in in Count 28 of the Indictment, (solicitation of a public officer to violate his oath of office).

The judge writes that the state conceded Meadows was a federal official at the time of the alleged acts in the Georgia case, so the only question is whether the alleged acts were conducted within the scope of his federal position and duties.

After reviewing case law and the statutes, the judge proceeds to bury Meadows:

[T]o establish a RICO conspiracy the State only need prove that any co-conspirator committed one overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, whether the overt act was specifically charged in the Indictment or not. In other words, the State can prove its RICO charge against Meadows by showing any one of his co-Defendants committed any overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy— whether that overt act is in the Indictment or not.

Donald Trump filed a notice (available here) last week saying he was likely to request the Georgia state case be moved to federal court.

The Meadows ruling does not bode well for Trump, or for that matter any of the other defendants seeking removal to federal court.

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  • Display: Sort:
    As well it should. (5.00 / 4) (#1)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Sep 12, 2023 at 05:42:27 PM EST
    Jeralyn: "The Meadows ruling does not bode well for Trump, or for that matter any of the other defendants seeking removal to federal court."

    I've worked in the public sector, of and on, the the better part of thirty-plus years. The laws governing our conduct as public employees and officials are very clear and unambiguous regarding our respective political activities (if any), and with good reason.

    Those laws preclude the ability of elected officials to weaponize the public workforce during campaign season and beyond, because as public employees we are on the taxpayer dime during business hours. We're there to serve the public, not cater to the personal whims and desires of the duly elected.

    I'm glad Federal Judge Steve Jones spelled that out for the defendants in the Georgia RICO case. While one may be an at-will public employee who serves at the pleasure of an elected official, as was the case with Mark Meadows, there are still boundaries. Being a public official does not grant one license or leeway to violate the law, even if it's done at the specific directive of the (elected) boss.

    Aloha.

    Exception to the rule (none / 0) (#6)
    by john horse on Thu Sep 21, 2023 at 06:57:47 AM EST
    According to a Trump Truth Social post in December 2022, there is an exception to the rule that public officials must follow the law.  If a Republican (this exception only applies to Republicans) loses an election he can terminate all "rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution."

    Parent
    Meadows is attempting to appeal the ruling (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Peter G on Wed Sep 13, 2023 at 09:11:08 PM EST
    to the Eleventh Circuit, and to get some judge to issue a stay of prosecution, or at least a stay of the remand of the case to state court, pending that appeal. But the district judge has already denied him a stay, and I don't predict the appellate court will grant one either. Then he gets a final try at the Supreme Court. There, his only real hope is the Circuit Justice for the Eleventh Circuit, who is ... wait for it ... The Hon. Clarence Thomas.

    The House J6 Committte (none / 0) (#3)
    by KeysDan on Thu Sep 14, 2023 at 10:52:12 AM EST
    found 29 text messages between Meadows and Ginni which took place between early November 2020 mid-January 2021.  

    The text messages show Ginni pleading with Meadows to continue to fight to overturn the election. "Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America's constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History." Ginni on Nove 10, 2020. Ginni regularly checked in with Meadows to push claims of voter fraud and and to prevent the election from being certified.  

    Of course, Clarence Thomas, was the lone dissenter in the Supreme Court's ruling against Trump's request to block turnover of documents to the J6 Committee.

    The appearances of conflict would seem to dictate the recusal of Thomas from having anything to do with this case. But, unfortunately, I believe that Thomas has no ethical compass and has a "For Sale" sign sticking out his derriere.

    Parent

    You make an excellent point, Dan (none / 0) (#4)
    by Peter G on Thu Sep 14, 2023 at 02:56:18 PM EST
    I can definitely see DA Willis suggesting Thomas's recusal from any stay motion filed by Meadows. (A "suggestion" rather than a "motion" is typically how it's done.) The connection between Meadows and the Justice's spouse and "best friend" in connection with the same sequence of events that underlies the Georgia indictment is damning.

    Parent
    Shana Tovah (5.00 / 4) (#5)
    by Peter G on Sat Sep 16, 2023 at 10:16:40 AM EST
    Happy ("sweet") Jewish New Year to those who celebrate. And to anyone else who likes cheerful greetings, for that matter.

    Did Tr*mp actually purchase a Glock handgun (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Peter G on Mon Sep 25, 2023 at 05:55:59 PM EST
    today? His spokesperson announced that he did, but then took down the post and insisted that he hadn't (and that he never "took possession" of it). Wonder why? Because it is a federal felony  for a person under indictment to "knowingly" "receive" -- see section 922(d) -- a firearm. ("Knowingly," according to the Supreme Court, means "consciously aware of having the disqualifying characteristic" but not necessarily knowing that the law prohibits such persons from possessing a firearm.) And I would guess his concern is not so much with whether the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina would actually charge him with that crime, but whether any of the three prosecutors he is already dealing with would feel obligated (as they surely would with any other defendant) to file a bail revocation motion, based on the first condition of every bail order I've ever seen: "Do not commit any crime, federal, state or local."

    This is a great story (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Sep 25, 2023 at 06:47:57 PM EST
    Bail revocation, by the way, (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Peter G on Mon Sep 25, 2023 at 08:32:30 PM EST
    even on the basis of supposedly committing a crime, does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, only a preponderance of the reliable evidence.

    Parent
    Jack Smith has indeed filed a motion (5.00 / 2) (#35)
    by Peter G on Sun Oct 01, 2023 at 04:34:27 PM EST
    in D.C. federal court to inquire whether there was a bail violation, along with his request for a partial gag order. The prosecutor continues to give Tr*mp the benefit of the doubt, by just asking for a judicial inquiry rather than moving to revoke bail and letting Tr*mp's lawyers try to convince the judge that what sounds like an admission of a fairly grave violation really wasn't.

    Parent
    I've been thinking (none / 0) (#36)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Oct 01, 2023 at 04:55:27 PM EST
    the way Trumps been acting out I think she is going to gag him.  And maybe not in a limited way.  Is that even possible ?

    Parent
    Oh yes, it is absolutely possible ... (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Peter G on Sun Oct 01, 2023 at 07:50:48 PM EST
    For the order to be lawfully issued, that is. Not possible that he will comply with it, of course. Which in turn could then become the thing that puts him in confinement (not jail, I don't actually believe, unless he personally utters a direct threat of violence), with his public communications screened by a Pretrial Services Officer (a kind of specialized probation officer, employed within the Judicial Branch, who administers bail orders on the judge's behalf) for compliance with the judge's restrictions. That is the least that would happen to any other defendant who threatened witnesses and persisted in attempting to poison the jury pool.

    Parent
    OH, this would be rich. (none / 0) (#39)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Oct 02, 2023 at 04:49:34 AM EST
    His businesses are in receivership so his social media posts could essentially be in the same type of situation.

    Could the courts have someone follow him to rallies and pull him off the stage when he issued threats?

    Parent

    The judge has clear authority to restrict (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Peter G on Mon Oct 02, 2023 at 12:08:15 PM EST
    his travel, both as to where and as to why. I'm sure she would attempt to exercise that authority with the utmost restraint. I cannot imagine the sort of real-time policing of his speech you describe (which perhaps was tongue-in-cheek), but if he persists in using "campaign rallies" to violate the gag order, then he could lawfully be denied permission to hold or attend such rallies. I have had activist clients on bail denied permission to travel out of state for what would clearly be core First Amendment-protected activities.

    Parent
    I think she needs to make it (none / 0) (#41)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Oct 02, 2023 at 12:17:35 PM EST
    crystal clear to Trump and his supporters that a person charged with felonies and out on bail, times 4, simply does not have the same freedom of speech as everyone else.
    And he really needs to stop lying about that.


    Parent
    I am not (none / 0) (#42)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Oct 02, 2023 at 12:38:41 PM EST
    sure she would be able to get through to his supporters as they only listen to him and he's not going to correct the disinformation.

    Parent
    To wit (none / 0) (#37)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Oct 01, 2023 at 05:27:36 PM EST

    Donald Trump raged to an Iowa crowd this afternoon, Rolling Stone reports.

    Said Trump: "It's no wonder the far left lunatics are getting desperate to stop our movement by any means necessary. As you know, crooked Joe Biden and his radical left thugs have weaponized law enforcement to arrest their leading opponent on fake and phony charges. I got arrested four times in the last -- it's almost like I wake up in the morning, `Do you think they'll arrest me today?' I never got arrested before. It's a terrible thing."

    He added: "Every time the radical Democrats indict me, I consider it a great honor. Because I'm being indicted for you."



    Parent
    The Menendex indictment (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by KeysDan on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 01:19:55 PM EST
    tells a story of Menendez crashing on the rocks after heeding the call of a siren.  After a romantic match-up in an IHOP, Menendez and the unemployed Nadine hit it off- love at first sight--Nadine finding him witty and "hot". notto mention, an easy mark. Menendez was besotted by Nadine's presence and discriminatory taste in fine dining.

    Within a very short period, well before they were married, Nadine introduced Menendez to her old friends (now known as co-defendants) and embarks upon a plan for the two of them to cash-in on all available resources to live in a style in which she would like to become accustomed.

    Menendez was a willing participant, bringing his previous experience to the new plan of avarice, cupidity and abuse of power. A sloppy plan in many respects, seemingly based on the arrogance derived from his hung jury shortly before the new scheme was hatched and his reading of the Supreme Court's bribery-blessing McDonnell decision.

     The story is both a comedy and tragedy--like the explanation by Menendez for keeping all that cash in a closet, stuffed in his jacket and elsewhere around the house.

    It was probably all to the good that he did not attempt to explain  the gold bars or Mercedes C class convertible. The just in case of an emergency explanation does not seem to fit, although in keeping with that idea, he may have kept the gold bars if neeeded to bribe the border guards while escaping into climes warmer than New Jersey with the top down on the Mercedes.

         

    So..... (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by Zorba on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 06:40:19 PM EST
    Menendez was thinking with his little head instead of his big one?

    Parent
    Seems so, (none / 0) (#21)
    by KeysDan on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 09:33:40 PM EST
    and with sugar plums dancing in his corrupt head.

    Parent
    Like (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by FlJoe on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 05:28:50 PM EST
    there was any doubt
    A New York judge has found Donald Trump and his adult sons liable for fraud, saying the Trumps provided false financial statements for roughly a decade.

    Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling came days before the civil case involving the New York attorney general's office and the former president was set to go to trial.

    Engoron granted Attorney General Letitia James' motion for summary judgment, finding Trump, his sons, and others "to be liable as a matter of law for persistent violations" of New York state law. He found the financial statements the Trumps provided to lenders and insurers for about a decade to be false and said they repeatedly engaged in fraud.



    So Trump has sued the judge Engoron? (none / 0) (#15)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 06:39:41 PM EST
    I can't keep up.

    Parent
    Well, they're not really suing the judge, in the (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Peter G on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 09:24:55 PM EST
    ordinary sense of that term. It's an action "in the nature of mandamus," for an order directing the trial judge to comply with a prior appellate ruling (as the Tr*mp lawyers claim to interpret that ruling) that found some of the AG's claims to be barred by the statute of limitations. I do not know any New York law, much less whether this is a permissible use of this procedure or a correct interpretation of the prior decision (although the trial judge obviously thinks not).

    Parent
    Here (none / 0) (#17)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 06:43:05 PM EST
    Yeah (none / 0) (#18)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 07:33:25 PM EST
    but I don't think it will work. It seems the judge basically laughed at the defense his attorney was offering which was Donald gets to decide what something is worth.

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#19)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 07:33:25 PM EST
    but I don't think it will work. It seems the judge basically laughed at the defense his attorney was offering which was Donald gets to decide what something is worth.

    Parent
    Um, no. (none / 0) (#28)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 03:28:57 PM EST

    Appeals Court Refuses to Delay Trump Fraud Trial
    September 28, 2023 at 4:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

    "An appeals court Thursday declined to postpone the start of next week's trial in the New York attorney general's $250 million fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump and his company," the Washington Post reports.

    "The appellate court had been asked by Trump's legal team to put off the scheduled start of the proceeding Monday and to force New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who will oversee it, to dismiss claims that were covered by statute of limitations."



    Parent
    Finally (none / 0) (#33)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 08:01:07 PM EST
    your average New Yorker gets to say how much Trump is gonna pay them instead of them getting stolen from.

    I don't know that many people in NY but the few I do know loathe Trump.

    Parent

    Thank goodness! (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by coast on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 02:06:50 PM EST
    Government is about to shut down.  However the Senate has passed a formal dress code!  Thank goodness we have a working government that will tackel the real issues facing the American public...what to wear to work.

    Just when you think (none / 0) (#24)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 02:30:51 PM EST
    they can not possibly be more pathetic and ridiculous

    Parent
    If I were (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by Zorba on Sun Oct 01, 2023 at 12:41:40 PM EST
    Fetterman, I would show up wearing white tie and tails. Or at least a tuxedo. They want "formal," give them "formal."

    Parent
    Watching (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by KeysDan on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 02:40:50 PM EST
    the second Republican presidential primary debate/food fight was like being put in a time capsule and cranked back 150 years or so.  Mexican-American wars, the values of slavery, racist yellow peril scapegoating, the enduring social and economic values of the gilded age. Nostalgia for the good old days of President Davis.

    Tough duty for reporting so you all didn't have to.  Really, not all that bad considering the entertainment value of seeing Pudd'n and Boots continue to circle the drain, Ramaswamy's new hairdo--sort of a comb-over, but vertical rather than the customary horizontal, Nikki's glaringly apparent dislike of Rama and the gleeful piling on by the rest, Pence's joke about sleeping with a teacher--not sure the Lord appreciated his humor, Christie calling the Criminal Defendant Trump, Donald Duck because he ducked the debate, and someone from one of the Dakotas, East, maybe, with Groucho eyebrows--- that's all I noted about him.  Was looking for Tim Scott's fine Christian girlfriend to be acknowledged in the audience, but no.

    Maybe, just maybe, the nest debate will edge into the 20th century.   It is clear the winners of this debate were the candidates who were not there--Asa. Hutchinson, who, fortunately for his reputation, did not qualify, -TFG, who qualified but squandered the time at a non-union shop.  The clear winner: President Biden.

    I like the Billy Madison nod (none / 0) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 03:24:38 PM EST

    At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

    Billy Madison (1995) - James Downey as Principal - IMDb



    Parent
    Get in touch with the Harvest Moon.. (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by desertswine on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 03:01:57 PM EST
    When this year's harvest moon rises later this week, it will also be a "supermoon," meaning it may appear slightly larger and brighter.

    It will rise between Thursday night and Friday morning.

    Harvest moon" refers to the nearest full moon to the autumnal equinox -- one of two equinoxes that occur annually -- which marks the official end of summer and beginning of fall.

    Several planets are also currently visible in the night sky. Gold-tinged Saturn and bright Jupiter rise in the east and appear high in the later hours, while Venus shines before dawn. And don't forget about Neil Young.

    I was watching this (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 06:53:41 PM EST

    Biden Issues a Blistering Attack on Trump
    September 28, 2023 at 7:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments

    "President Biden issued a broad and blistering attack against former President Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing his predecessor and would-be successor of inciting violence, seeking unfettered power and plotting to undermine the Constitution if he returns to office in next year's elections," the New York Times reports.

    "In his most direct condemnation of his leading Republican challenger in many months, Mr. Biden portrayed Mr. Trump as a budding autocrat with no fidelity to the tenets of American democracy and who is motivated by hatred and a desire for retribution."

    "While he usually avoids referring to Mr. Trump by name, Mr. Biden this time held nothing back as he offered a dire warning about the consequences of a new Trump term."

    While CNN and MSNBC were covering this FOX was covering the clown show impeachment.  Switching back and forth. It was a pretty stunning contrast.

    Joe never looked better.  Republicans are cursed by the Gods

    Maybe the (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 07:58:44 PM EST
    media and this is mostly directed at CNN has decided that they might be in the first wave of the firing squad.

    Or maybe Kristin Welker's disastrous interview is something they don't want to repeat.

    Parent

    Maybe the (none / 0) (#32)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 07:58:44 PM EST
    media and this is mostly directed at CNN has decided that they might be in the first wave of the firing squad.

    Or maybe Kristin Welker's disastrous interview is something they don't want to repeat.

    Parent

    You know who else could benefit from ... (none / 0) (#9)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Sep 25, 2023 at 08:16:59 PM EST
    ... a change of venue for his upcoming trial? Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) should petition the court to move his case to Cairo.

    Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have called upon Menendez to resign his office, but he won't because truth be told, he's never going to find a gig that pays as good as this one. Besides, this isn't Menendez's first time at the rodeo and he beat the rap last time around, so who's to say that lightning can't strike twice?

    After all, anyone could've stuffed those envelopes with cash and stashed them in his basement. And in this day and age, I'm not ruling anything out, given that what once seemed far-fetched has now sadly become par for the course. Of course, Menendez's challenge will be to convince at least one juror of that possibility.

    For his part, Sen. Fetterman plans to return Menendez's campaign donation in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is an object lesson in how to throw some serious shade. We have to police our own, if we want to credibly call out others for this crap.

    Aloha.

    What? Doesn't everybody keep (none / 0) (#11)
    by desertswine on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 12:12:42 AM EST
    $500,000 in cash lying around the house for household emergencies?

    We have a couple of extra blankets and a flashlight.

    I love Fetterman said (none / 0) (#12)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 26, 2023 at 10:11:21 AM EST
    He was going to return the 5000 he gave him in envelopes full of hundred dollar bills

    Parent
    He is not wrong (none / 0) (#22)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 10:17:50 AM EST
    But I wonder if it will change anything

    "Something Terrible Is Going to Happen'
    September 28, 2023 at 10:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 73 Comments

    Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told MSNBC he's worried that someone targeted by Donald Trump will face actual violence.

    Said Weissmann: "It is so unreal that we're sitting at a table discussing that the former leader of the free world is making statements knowing darn well the sort of call and response affect he has... something terrible is going to happen."



    I am (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 28, 2023 at 05:33:59 PM EST
    afraid it is going to take someone getting murdered but then again maybe not considering the people that died at J6. There is no bottom.

    Parent