Mark Meadows is one of the defendants in the Georgia state criminal case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis against President Trump and a cast of thousands. Meadows is Trump’s former chief of staff and the two crimes with which he is charged arise from his service to Trump. Meadows therefore sought removal of the charges against him from state to federal court under the federal officer removal statute codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). I wrote about Meadows’s motion in “Take a load off Fani: The removal issue.”
The motion came on for hearing before Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia on August 28. Yesterday Judge Jones denied Meadows’s motion in 49-page memorandum order that is posted online here. Judge Jones is an Obama appointee, but his order is immediately appealable to the Eleventh Circuit. Indeed, Meadows has already filed an appeal with the Eleventh Circuit. I should think he played it straight in his analysis in anticipation of appellate review.
Each of the former federal officers charged in the Georgia case has his own right of removal. Jones’s memorandum order tells us where his mind is on the issue. However, the Eleventh Circuit has yet to be heard from. If I were one of the federal officer defendants, I would seek removal before the 30-day clock expires.
Unfortunately, the Fulton County case lumbers on with its epic cast in any event. Defendants remain stuck inside of Fulton County with the D.C blues again.
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