Mark Meadows Pleads Not Guilty Georgia Charges: Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges in Georgia court. He allegedly attempted to aid former President Donald Trump in altering the 2020 election outcome. Meadows and 19 others, including Trump, were indicted in Fulton County on August 14 on 41 charges related to election influence.
Meadows skipped a trial hearing on Wednesday by submitting a plea via court filing. Currently, he is free on a $100,000 bond pending trial. Meadows said he and his lawyer, James Durham, discussed the charges and he waived his right to a trial hearing. He submitted the paper on Friday, and it was posted publicly on Tuesday.
Meadows is still seeking to move his case to federal court. He claims exemption from state charges due to his past government employment. Four other suspects, including Jeffrey Clark, David Shafer, Shawn Still, and Cathy Latham, also want the case moved to federal court. All claim innocence and skipped arraignments.
John Eastman, Michael Roman, and Harrison Floyd are co-defendants who pleaded not guilty and didn’t attend their Tuesday meetings. Previously, co-defendants such as Trump, Giuliani, Powell, Smith, Cheeley, Kutti, Chesebro, Ellis, Hall, and Lee pleaded not guilty and waived their hearing rights.
As of Tuesday at noon, Misty Hampton was the only co-defendant without a scheduled plea. Meadows wants his case moved to federal court as he was a federal official and the actions in the indictment were part of his job. Judge Jones instructed Meadows to enter a plea if he hadn’t decided on the transfer by the arraignment.
ALSO READ: Mark Meadows Battles Georgia Prosecutors: Over Election Racketeering Charges
Suspects charged with racketeering, Meadows accused of pressuring Raffensperger. This charge stems from Meadows being on a call with Trump on January 2, 2021, where Trump instructed Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed to win in the state. The House committee’s January 6 review found that Trump attempted to call Raffensperger 18 times but received no answer.
During the call, Trump said, “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” Let me go. We have plenty of that already. As Meadows and other defendants prepare their defenses in this high-profile case involving claims of election interference and government wrongdoing, the legal processes for these charges will continue.
Our Reader’s Queries
Was Mark Meadows appeal denied?
A federal appeals court dismissed Mark Meadows’ bid to transfer his Georgia election meddling case to federal court.
What did Mark Meadows do before he was chief of staff?
Throughout his time in office, Meadows led the Freedom Caucus from 2017 to 2019. He was known as a key ally of Donald Trump while serving in the House of Representatives. His role as chief of staff came after his time as a Tea Party Republican and founding member of the Freedom Caucus.