In a huge blow to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, a federal judge has denied his request to have his trial in the Georgia election racketeering case removed to federal court, reported POLITICO's Kyle Cheney.
"Having considered the arguments and evidence, the Court concludes that Meadows has not met his burden," said a ruling issued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. "Therefore, the Court DECLINES to assume jurisdiction over the State's criminal prosecution of Meadows."
The ruling ensures that Meadows will have his trial held in the same venue as former President Donald Trump and the rest of his co-defendants in the case, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
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Had the case been removed to federal court, the charges would not have changed, although the judge and jury pool in the case would have. Legal experts had speculated that Meadows' move was a gambit to try to get the case thrown out entirely, as he was planning once the case was removed to use an argument that his actions in the conspiracy were part of his official duties and therefore immune from prosecution.
Meadows is not the only defendant in the Georgia case who sought to get their charges removed to federal court; former DOJ official Jeff Clark and the false electors also moved for the same relief.
However, experts have broadly suggested that Meadows was the only one of these defendants with a realistic change of winning the motion.
