Mark Meadows (Fulton County Jail), Fulton County DA Fani Willis (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
One day after former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows filed an “emergency” motion to pause the effect of ruling against his efforts to remove his Georgia racketeering (RICO) case to federal court, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) responded by saying “defendant’s motion does not show he can carry the heavy burden required to receive such a stay.”
In bold, Willis wrote that Meadows “has not made a ‘strong showing’ that he is likely to succeed on the merits,” adding later with emphasis: “the defendant has not actually made any showing.”
“His arguments are overbroad and do not actually address the careful reasoning employed by the Court in its Remand Order. He thus has presented no basis to conclude that he is likely to succeed in his appeal,” the response said.
Willis took direct aim at Meadows’ contention that it is in the “public interest” to grant him a stay pending appeal that could throw a wrench in his fast-approaching trial, scheduled to begin on Oct. 23.
“His arguments do not actually address the reasoning of the Remand Order and instead talk around it. He asks for relief from purely speculative injuries,” the response concluded. “And he cannot cite to any pertinent public interest weighing in his favor, particularly when this Court has already found his arguments unpersuasive.”
More Law&Crime coverage: After judicial beatdown, Mark Meadows files ‘emergency’ motion warning he ‘could be forced’ to face RICO trial and conviction before appeal plays out
Meadows, who put forth arguments that his status as a federal officer renders him immune to the state case under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, asserted Monday that U.S. District Judge Steve CarMichael Jones, a Barack Obama appointee, erroneously ruled Friday that the former chief of staff to then-President Donald Trump failed to clear the “quite low” bar to show that his criminal case should be removed to federal court.
Read Related Also: Indiana Killer Learns Fate for ‘Brutal and Heinous’ Murders of Ex-Girlfriend and Her Grandmother
The defendant argued in his emergency motion that “Supremacy Clause immunity and the Federal Officer Removal Statute […] is vitally important to the proper functioning of our Federal Government that federal officials be free from state arrest and prosecution when carrying out their duties.”
Meadows asserted that his rights under this theory “would be effectively nullified” if there is no stay and that state gets its way. He raised the prospect of being convicted and incarcerated before these various issues make their way through federal appellate court.
“Absent a stay, the State will continue seeking to try Meadows 42 days from now on October 23, 2023,” Meadows’ lawyers wrote. “If the State gets its way, Meadows could be forced to go to trial—and could be convicted and incarcerated—before the standard timeline for a federal appeal would play out.”
After filing the emergency motion Monday, Meadows speedily appealed to U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
“The Court should promptly (1) stay the Remand Order, and (2) grant expedited review; or in the alternative, (3) enjoin the District Attorney from further prosecuting Meadows in state court pending appeal,” the appeal said.
The 11th Circuit has ordered DA Willis and Meadows to file a brief by 5 p.m. on Wednesday on the issue of whether the removal statute applies to former federal officers.
Those briefs are to be 10 pages or less.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
