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Monday looks to be a very important day in court when it comes to the prosecution of Donald Trump and others involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump may not be appearing personally this morning, but the outcome may determine when he has to show up for trial. And in the case of the indictments in Fulton County, Georgia, the outcome today may decide whether a trial happens at all.
In Federal District Court in Washington, Judge Tanya Chutkan will be considering two very different dates for Trump’s trial on indictments handed up by a federal grand jury. Special counsel Jack Smith has asked for a date in October. Meanwhile, Trump’s attorneys want to delay the start date all the way until the middle of 2026 to maximize the opportunity for Trump to pardon himself, or for some other Republican to do so, or for Republicans in Congress to figure out a way to impeach everyone who isn’t Trump.
But what’s happening in another federal courtroom, this one in Atlanta, may be even more important. That’s where U.S. District Judge Steve Jones will hear arguments from Mark Meadows’ attorneys that the indictment against Meadows should be moved from Georgia state court to federal court. Should Meadows succeed, the motion could fragment the case prepared by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, or potentially prevent many of the defendants from being tried at all.
As the Associated Press reports, the argument from Meadows is that as an “officer of the United States,” his actions in 2020 are immune from prosecution in state courts under the protection of the Constitution. That protection is there to prevent states, where a law or regulation may be unpopular, from constantly charging or suing federal officials who try to enforce those laws. The wording of the Constitution is broad enough that Meadows seeks to have all his state indictments dropped, at which point he plans to ask that the whole case be dismissed.
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But Meadows has a fairly steep mountain to climb in making this argument. While the Constitution does throw a protective blanket over the actions of federal officers carrying out official duties, it’s by no means assured that Meadows’ leaning on a state official in an attempt to get more votes for Trump, or attempting to force his way into an office where votes were being counted, would be considered part of his duties. Meadows will argue that anything he was told to do by Trump was his duty. Jones isn’t obliged to agree.
Meadows also has an extra hill to get over because it’s unclear that the White House chief of staff, essentially a convenience for the president, actually constitutes a federal officer covered by absolute immunity from state prosecution. He will argue that he became a federal official because he was acting on Trump’s orders. That argument is also likely to be picked up by others if Meadows finds any success.
Should Jones rule in Meadows’ favor, a whole raft of others should be expected to follow—including Trump. Since many of the charges in the case are for violations of Georgia law, this would also open the door to having those charges dismissed. At the very least, the ruling would rip holes in Willis’ racketeering case and leave those charges subject to a series of further attempts to split the case or slow progress.
On the other hand, should Jones quickly dismiss Meadows’ attempt, it will be a very strong signal that other such claims are also doomed and help ensure that Willis’ RICO case moves forward. This is critical to keep pressure on defendants who might decide cooperating with prosecutors looks better than the guaranteed jail time a RICO conviction carries.
When it comes to the court date on Trump’s federal trial, Chutkan will hear arguments from each side but won’t necessarily announce any date today. It’s likely that she will select a date that’s a compromise between the very near date selected by Smith’s office (which would be unusually speedy for any federal trial) and the ridiculous delay Trump is requesting.
Whatever she decides, Chutkan will have to work around the May 20, 2024 date set by Judge Aileen Cannon for the beginning of Trump’s Florida trial over illegal retention of national security documents.
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