A federal judge in Arizona denied Mark Meadows’ request to move his fake electors case out to a federal court.
Meadows, who was chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, was one of 18 people indicted by an Arizona grand jury for allegedly scheming to undermine President Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020.
The Associated Press reported that Meadows asked a federal judge to move the case to U.S. District Court, arguing his actions were taken when he was a federal official working as Trump’s chief of staff and that he has immunity under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says federal law trumps state law.
In a ruling issued on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi found that federal law allows suits against federal officials to be removed from state courts if the officer can “establish that the prosecution is for or relating to an act under color of office.”
However, Tuchi ruled Meadows’ case will remain in the county court, because the charges he faces in Arizona have little to do with the official duties of the president’s chief of staff.
“Instead, the State has indicted Mr. Meadows for allegedly orchestrating and participating in an illegal electioneering scheme,” according to the ruling. “Few, if any, of the State’s factual allegations even resemble the secretarial duties that Mr. Meadows maintains are the subject of the indictment.”
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge recently heard arguments by attorneys for Meadows and other defendants in the Arizona fake electors case, who argued the case should be dismissed under a state law that prohibits litigation designed to stifle a political opponent’s constitutional rights.
Judge Bruce Cohen has not yet issued a ruling on that request to dismiss the case.
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