![]() ![]() He tried to personally observe the signature-matching operation in Cobb County, Georgia, so that he would be prepared when the president asked him about it, Meadows testified. Time and again, to bolster his case, Meadows connected his actions with his official position. ![]() Meadows’ attorneys did not telegraph they planned to call their client to testify ahead of Monday’s hearing, while Willis had subpoenaed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was on the January 2021 call with Trump when Trump told him to “find” enough votes so he could win the state, and several others involved in the call. Meadows’ testimony wasn’t advertised beforehand ET Thursday deadline, indicating that he won’t rule on the matter before Friday at the earliest. Jones on Tuesday asked prosecutors and Meadows to file additional legal arguments about Georgia’s anti-racketeering law known as RICO, giving them a 5 p.m. “If I don’t rule by September 6, then he should show up for the arraignment,” Jones said of Meadows. When Meadows’ attorney said at the conclusion of the hearing that his client was “entitled to a prompt determination,” Jones responded that he was likely going to take his time because he thinks the ruling will set precedent for other cases. Jones, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, did not rule from the bench at the conclusion of Monday’s daylong hearing, but he noted the significance of the issue. (One of Trump’s lawyers was spotted in the courthouse Monday.) Four additional defendants have already made a motion to move their cases to federal court, too. The upcoming decision by US District Judge Steve Jones matters to all of the 19 co-defendants – including the former president, whose lawyers are expected to file a similar motion as Meadows. Meadows is keen on moving the case out of state court because he’s arguing that he falls under a federal immunity claim extended, in certain contexts, to individuals who are prosecuted or sued for alleged conduct that was done on behalf of the US government or was tied to their federal position. Putting Meadows on the stand gave prosecutors the chance to question him about the events after the 2020 election in a setting where his words can be used both against him and the other defendants in the Fulton County case – not to mention in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment of Trump for election subversion. “I’m absolutely amazed that he is taking the stand.” Tom Morgan, a former district attorney in DeKalb County, Georgia, said on CNN’s “Inside Politics” Monday. And usually, the calculation goes against the defendant,” J. ![]() “It’s a calculated risk to put a defendant on the stand at any time, certainly during pre-trial motions. And even smarter defendants decline to speak publicly about their case while it’s still ongoing. Criminal defendants often take advantage of their constitutional right and decline to testify as part of their legal proceedings. What unfolded in Atlanta on Monday was shocking by legal standards. That would dramatically upend the case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis just two weeks after the grand jury indicted Trump, Meadows and 17 others on racketeering charges related to efforts to subvert the 2020 election results. If the judge agrees, the trial could end up moving from state court to federal court, a more advantageous legal spot for Meadows. Meadows sought to convince a judge that, as Trump’s right-hand man at the White House, his various attempts to block his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden were part of his official government duties. ![]() Takeaways from a busy and significant day in the Donald Trump criminal cases 24, 2023, where he was expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail later in the evening. Donald Trump exits his private plane after arriving in Atlanta on Thursday, Aug. ![]()
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