Legal expert: Supreme Court may accept appeal from former Trump chief of staff

By 
 September 18, 2024

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been charged in Georgia and Arizona over his actions following the 2020 presidential election.

While Meadows has failed in his efforts at getting both cases moved to the federal system, one legal expert believes that the issue may eventually come before the Supreme Court. 

Meadows cites Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision

That was the argument put forward in an article written this week by former New York prosecutor and MSNBC legal blogger Jordan Rubin.

Rubin pointed out how Meadows has already filed a petition with America's highest judicial body regarding racketeering charges brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

In his petition, Meadows points to the Supreme Court's ruling Trump v. United States, which found that presidents enjoy the presumption of immunity for official acts and full immunity for acts tied to their "core" constitutional duties.

Federal district and appeals courts have maintained that Meadows cannot pursue removal as a former federal officer and have concluded that his alleged actions did not relate to his official duties.

Defense lawyer calls rejection "egregiously wrong"

Paul Clement is Meadow's defense attorney, Rubin quoted him as saying that the lower court rulings have been "egregiously wrong, wholly unprecedented, and exceptionally dangerous."

Clement has further asserted that "what matters is a federal officer's status at the time of the conduct at issue, not her status at the time the prosecutor or plaintiff gets around to filing suit."

Rubin pointed out how if the Supreme Court does ultimately agree to hear Meadow's appeal, then it has "implications" beyond his Georgia case.

That's because U.S. District Judge John Tuchi recently declined the former White House chief of staff's request to have his Arizona case moved to federal jurisdiction

Supreme Court set standard applying to both cases

"Therefore, because the Court concludes that the conduct charged in the State’s prosecution does not relate to Mr. Meadows’s color of former office, the Court must remand this case to state court," Tuchi wrote in his order.

"Arizona falls under a different federal appeals court than Georgia. So if Meadows appeals the Arizona denial, it’s possible that the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could reach a different result than the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit," Rubin acknowledged.

"But if the Supreme Court takes up Meadows' appeal in the Georgia case, then that could set a national standard applying to both cases — and to the law of removal generally," he added.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson