Musty Trump chief of workers Tag Meadows takes the stand in Georgia case

Musty Trump White Condo chief of workers Tag Meadows took the ogle stand at a listening to Monday to disclaim two of the allegations made against him in a Georgia indictment accusing him of taking portion in an unlawful plan to overturn the 2020 election.

Meadows, who become charged this month along with gentle President Donald Trump and 17 folks, is in search of to wrestle the charges in federal court reasonably than in thunder court. As portion of that effort, Meadows testified that he by no manner requested White Condo personnel officer John McEntee to draft a memo to Vice President Mike Pence on easy methods to delay certification of the election.

“When this got right here out within the indictment, it become the superb surprise for me,” Meadows testified Monday. He later said, “Me asking Johnny McEntee for this extra or much less a memo correct didn’t happen.”

He also said he did no longer text the Georgia secretary of thunder’s put of enterprise chief investigator, Frances Watson, because the indictment alleged. Rather, he said he believes that text become despatched to Jordan Fuchs, the secretary of thunder’s chief of workers.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who used Georgia’s racketeering law to raise the case, alleges that Trump, Meadows and the others participated in a broad-ranging conspiracy to take a peep at to retain the Republican president in vitality illegally even after his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Willis argues that Meadows’ actions were political in nature and no longer conducted as portion of his official duties.

The testimony from Trump’s gentle chief of workers got right here as two of the gentle president’s attorneys listened attentively within the courtroom. Monday’s listening to in Georgia enthusiastic correct one of four prison cases that Trump is currently going through. In Washington, a pick overseeing a federal case over charges that Trump sought to illegally subvert the results of the 2020 election space a trial date for March 4, 2024, precise within the coronary heart of the presidential critical calendar.

Lawyers for Meadows argue that his actions that gave rise to the charges within the indictment “all occurred all over his tenure and as portion of his carrier as chief of workers.” They argue that he did nothing prison and that the charges against him needs to be disregarded, and they wish U.S. District Resolve Steve Jones to transfer the case to federal court to pause any proceedings against him on the thunder diploma.

It become unclear when the pick deliberate to attach his resolution.

During Monday’s listening to, Meadows attorney George J. Terwilliger III fast known as his shopper to the stand and requested him about his duties as Trump’s chief of workers. The attorney then walked him during the acts alleged within the indictment to query if he had completed those as portion of his job. For lots of the acts listed, Meadows said he had conducted them as portion of his official obligation.

Within the unsuitable-examination, prosecutor Anna Noxious ticked during the same acts to query Meadows what federal coverage become being evolved in each of them. He step by step answered that the federal interest become in making certain precise and beautiful elections, but she accused him several instances of no longer answering her questions.

Willis’ team argues that the actions in query were meant completely to retain Trump reasonably than enterprise. These actions were explicitly political in nature and are unlawful under the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political command by federal staff, they wrote in a response to Meadows’ undercover agent of removal to federal court. They imagine the case may maybe well well mute remain in Fulton County Superior Court docket.

The allegations against Meadows consist of taking portion in meetings or communications with thunder lawmakers along with Trump and others that were meant to attain the alleged unlawful plan to retain Trump in vitality; touring to Atlanta’s suburbs the put a pollenvelope signature audit become taking place; arranging a cell phone name between Trump and a Georgia secretary of thunder investigator; and taking portion in a January 2021 cell phone name between Trump and Georgia Secretary of Train Brad Raffensperger all in which Trump suggested Raffensperger may maybe well well encourage “salvage 11,780 votes” wanted for him to obtain Georgia.

Noxious requested Meadows on Monday why he become repeat in an Oval Place of work meeting with Michigan legislators by which, the indictment alleges, Trump made false claims about election fraud within the thunder. Meadows said he become accountable for managing the president’s time and it become well-known for somebody to retain the meeting appealing and wrap it up when it become completed.

Willis’ team subpoenaed several witnesses to seem at Monday’s listening to, including Raffensperger, Watson and two lawyers who did work for Trump in Georgia within the aftermath of the election but who were no longer named within the indictment. The team has also submitted excerpts of previously taken depositions of several folks, including gentle Meadows assistant Cassidy Hutchinson.

Two of Trump’s attorneys within the Georgia case, Steve Sadow and Jennifer Shrimp, watched the proceedings within the courtroom, as did lawyers for at least one other co-defendant within the case.

Willis’ team argues that Meadows is never any longer entitled to immunity under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which most frequently says that federal law takes precedence over thunder law, due to the his actions were “unsuitable political command” that weren’t portion of his official duties and the evidence shows that he had “private or prison motivations for acting.”

Based mostly utterly on Willis’ team’s submitting, Meadows’ lawyers said all that is at tell on the second is whether or no longer or no longer the case needs to be moved to federal court and that he has met that “very low threshold.”

Meadows become a federal official and his actions were portion of that characteristic, they wrote, noting that the chief of workers has “critical-ranging duties to announce and support the President.” The merits of his arguments of immunity can’t be used to mediate whether or no longer the case needs to be moved to federal court, they argued.

They added that the “Hatch Act is a red herring, namely at this stage,” and have to now not even be discussed until after the case is moved to federal court. “Nonetheless, Mr. Meadows complied with federal law in reference to the charged behavior,” they wrote.

As a minimum four others charged within the indictment are also in search of to transfer the case to federal court, including U.S. Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. The different three — gentle Georgia Republican Celebration chair David Shafer, Georgia thunder Sen. Shawn Quiet and Cathy Latham — are amongst the 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had obtained the 2020 presidential election and declaring themselves the thunder’s “duly elected and licensed” electors.

In:
• Georgia
• Donald Trump