OAN’s Abril Elfi
10:45 AM – Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has pleaded not guilty and has waived his arraignment on the Georgia case along with the other defendants.
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Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court had set arraignment hearings for Meadows, former President Donald Trump, and the other 17 persons charged in a broad indictment last month for Wednesday. By Tuesday afternoon, all of the defendants had pleaded not guilty in court files and forfeited their right to an arraignment hearing.
Meadows had been charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with two state crimes which included violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering RICO law and soliciting a public official to violate their oath.
These charges came after a phone call where Trump and Meadows allegedly pressed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to flip the election results in Trump’s favor.
Reportedly, Meadows is attempting to transfer his case from state to federal court, where he hopes to get the indictment dismissed by citing immunity that protects many federal employees from litigation.
The former chief appeared on oath for more than three hours in August at a high-stakes hearing, claiming that the alleged actions listed in the Georgia indictment were related to his formal government duties as Trump’s chief of staff.
The federal judge who will decide whether to remand the case has yet to rule.
However, during a hearing last week, United States District Judge Steve Jones stated that if the case was not moved to federal court, the former chief would not be excused from arraignment.
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