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The county judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s RICO case in Georgia has granted several motions beneficial to several other defendants, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee announced in a late Monday evening order that Meadows and the others could delay their pretrial motions from Jan. 8 to Feb. 5, the Washington Examiner reported.
The order applies to Meadows, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and former Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party David Shafer.
The ruling comes as Meadows is preparing to appear before a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Friday regarding his attempt to transfer his case to federal court. This comes after a district court judge rejected that effort earlier this year.
The Examiner noted further: Meadows is seeking to overturn a September ruling by U.S. District Judge Steve Jones that found the former chief of staff exceeded his role by working directly with Trump’s campaign over the former president’s bid to undo his loss to President Joe Biden in the Peach State.
Jones similarly denied an effort by Clark, a former assistant attorney general in the Trump administration, to move his case to federal court on Sept. 29. The judge held that Clark’s role in drafting a letter that raised concerns about election fraud was not within “the gamut of his federal office.” Shafer’s effort was also rejected that day, along with efforts by former Coffee County GOP Chairwoman Cathy Latham and state Sen. Shawn Still.
Meadows and others seeking to relocate their cases may view the federal courts as offering a better chance of obtaining a more favorable jury pool that is not influenced by the Democratic-leaning Fulton County. Additionally, a transfer to federal court would prevent their cases from being televised, as all Fulton County court proceedings are live-streamed.
Depending on the outcome of Meadows’ appeal, the party that doesn’t prevail may opt to seek a review of his request by the full 11th Circuit or potentially appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Initially, Trump was expected to also seek to remove his case to a federal court but has instead chosen to remain in McAfee’s court.
Four defendants of the original 19 charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis have already taken plea deals. The rest are scheduled for trial to begin in August 2024, though the judge has signaled he may divide them into two groups.
Earlier this week, Georgia’s state Supreme Court declined to approve the rules for a new commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors, effectively putting the commission on hold.
Some Georgia Republicans want the new commission to discipline or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for prosecuting Trump and the others after accusing her of being politically motivated.
In an unsigned order, the justices expressed “grave doubts” about their ability to regulate district attorneys’ duties beyond the practice of law. They claimed that because lawmakers had not explicitly ordered the justices to act, they were refusing to rule either way.
“If district attorneys exercise judicial power, our regulation of the exercise of that power may well be within our inherent power as the head of the Judicial Branch,” justices wrote. “But if district attorneys exercise only executive power, our regulation of the exercise of that power would likely be beyond the scope of our judicial power.”
Houston Gaines, a Republican state representative from Athens who played a key role in the bill’s passage through the House earlier this year, expressed his opinion that lawmakers could forgo the court’s approval of the rules as early as January, allowing the commission to begin operations.
“This commission has been years in the making, and now it has its appointees, rules, and regulations ready to go,” Gaines wrote in a text. “As soon as the legislature can address this final issue with the court, rogue prosecutors will be held accountable.”
