Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ indictment of Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, has almost become “unglued” and should be dismissed, his lawyers said in court documents.
In its latest filing, Meadows’ legal team said Georgia prosecutors spoke “ad nauseam” about how Meadows could not have operated within his federal role during the 2020 presidential election.
The lawyers argue that by claiming Meadows acted “in violation of federal law,” the prosecution case “nearly comes unglued,” as federal law is not bound by Georgia state laws. They add that even murder does not come under state scrutiny if committed by a federal marshal in the operation of their duties.
Meadows was indicted along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other co-defendants in August as part of a RICO case being prosecuted by Willis.
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Trump and his co-accused are being tried under racketeering laws for their alleged efforts to help the former president overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Newsweek has contacted Paul Clement, Meadows’ attorney, via email for comment.
Meadows’ lawyers said in the filing that he had immunity from state prosecution under the supremacy clause, which states that federal law is above state law. They added that Meadows also had immunity from prosecution under federal law.
“Mr. Meadows was acting well within his federal role. And, as a matter of law, the contours of that role cannot be defined by any state authority, whether local prosecutor or state judge; instead, they are defined entirely by federal law, without reference to state law,” they wrote.
The lawyers cited the 1920 case of Johnson v. Maryland, in which the Supreme Court ruled that “even the most unquestionable and most universally applicable of state laws, such as those concerning murder, will not be allowed to control the conduct of a marshal of the United States acting under and in pursuance of the laws of the United States.”
The lawyers continued, “The State nevertheless argues ad nauseam that Mr. Meadows could not have operated within his ‘federal role’ because the allegations against him in the indictment amount to allegations Mr. Meadows acted in violation of federal law.”
Meadows and four other co-defendants—former Justice Department official Jeff Clark, former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer, state Senator Shawn Still and local Republican official Cathleen Latham—have asked for their cases to be moved to federal court. Their attempts to move the cases have not been successful.
Four other defendants—Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall and former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis—have pleaded guilty and will not be tried.
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