Mark Meadows seeks to stop arrest in effort to Georgia transfer election case to federal court

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was indicted along with Donald Trump in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election, asked a federal court on Tuesday to stop his arrest while he seeks to transfer his case from state to federal court.

Meadows made this request after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis rejected his plea for an extension of his deadline to surrender by Friday noon.

The 64-year-old claimed in his lawsuit that he should not face Fulton County charges because he was acting as a federal official when he allegedly participated in a phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, where Donald Trump pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes for him to win the state.

Meadows argued that if the case is moved to federal court, the charges should be dropped.

Another defendant, Jeffrey Clark, a former assistant attorney general, also made the same argument.

But the clock is ticking for the defendants, who have to turn themselves in for booking at the sheriff’s office by Friday. A hearing on Meadows’ request is set for Monday at 10 a.m.

Willis warned that she would issue an arrest warrant at 12:30 p.m. Friday if Meadows doesn’t comply.

“I am not granting any extensions,” Willis wrote in an email to Meadows’ lawyers on Tuesday.

“Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction.”

The former White House chief of staff urged U.S. District Judge Steve Jones to either grant his request urgently or to prevent Willis from arresting him. Jones had declined on Aug. 16, a day after Meadows filed his lawsuit, to rule in his favor immediately.

Willis is expected to respond on Wednesday to Meadows’ and Clark’s filings.

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Trump and 18 others were charged with racketeering and other crimes related to their efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia. Meadows was charged with soliciting Raffensperger to violate his oath of office by joining the call with Trump.

All the defendants in the case are required to surrender for booking by Friday.

Others have agreed on bonds ranging from $10,000 to $200,000. Trump is expected to surrender on Thursday.

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