Federal Judge Orders Second Hearing Over Removal of Georgia Case Involving Trump, Others…
A federal judge has ordered a second evidentiary hearing for the removal of cases filed against former President Donald Trump and 18 others in Fulton County, Ga., according to a Saturday report.
Trump and the others have been charged with alleged violations of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in their challenge of the 2020 election results by District Attorney Fani Willis. She claimed the actions constituted a “criminal racketeering enterprise” and gave all defendants in the case until Aug. 25 to surrender, which all of them have done. Trump surrendered on Thursday, and his mugshot immediately went viral, NTD News reported.
The outlet added:
Jeffrey Clark, former Justice Department (DOJ) official, filed a notice of removal on Aug. 21, requesting that his case be moved from state to federal court, where he is expecting the charges to be dismissed. A request to expedite the process before the arrest deadline was denied by Judge Steve Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, who will oversee the hearings related to removals.
The hearing will take place Monday, Sept. 18, and the district attorney’s office has until Sept. 5 to file a response.
The indictment accuses Mr. Clark of violating the RICO Act as well as allegedly making a false statement when he issued a DOJ statement alerting Georgia officials to election fraud concerns. He is arguing that he acted as a federal official, and thus “asserts federal jurisdiction” in the case.
“The Court now must determine if it clearly lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Clark’s removal action, which would require summary remand,” Jones wrote in his decision, going on to say that he isn’t commenting on the claims made by Clark but instead will wait to hear arguments from both parties at the Sept. 18 hearing.
Notices to move jurisdiction must be filed within 30 days after arraignment. Clark and three others have so far filed to have their cases moved out of state jurisdiction, arguing that they were part of the federal government when the alleged actions took place.
Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, was the first to file to have his case moved to a federal court. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled to take place on Monday, NTD News reported. His attorneys have argued that the election- or politically-related actions he took following the election were done as federal conduct.
“The only dispute the State asserts here is whether Mr. Meadows is entitled to immunity based on the nature of the conduct charged and the scope of his duties,” they wrote. They added that even if there is something about Meadows’ actions that is disputable, such conduct still does not fall under state jurisdiction.
The district attorney’s office has already subpoenaed four witnesses to testify in Monday’s hearing. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Chief Investigator for the Secretary of State’s office Frances Watson, and attorneys Kurt Hilbert, and Alex Kaufman are expected to testify at the hearing,” NTD News reported.
Meadows faced allegations of coordinating or participating in meetings and phone conversations with the subpoenaed witnesses. Willis is likely to ask the witnesses to provide their recollections of the said meetings and calls.
David Shafer, a substitute elector during Georgia’s 2020 general election and former chair of the Republican Party in the state, also submitted a notice for removal. He contended that the alternate elector role was sanctioned by a Congressional act, thereby enabling him to assert federal immunity.
Additionally, he asserted that his actions were conducted “at direction” of President Trump and the president’s legal team, potentially qualifying him as acting under the guise of a federal officer, if not being deemed one himself, NTD News noted further.
