By
The losses keep piling up for Mark Meadows in his effort to move his Georgia state criminal charges to federal court. First, a federal judge rejected the move. Then a federal appeals court panel smacked him down, too.
And now, the full federal appeals court has declined to upset that panel ruling against him.
But Meadows’ fight might not be over yet. Recall that when he filed his petition for the full federal appeals court to consider, he brought on a top Supreme Court litigator in Paul Clement. That suggested that the former White House chief of staff was ready to take his removal fight all the way up to the high court. Indeed, he didn’t seem to have a good shot at upending the panel ruling within the circuit itself, so it looked like he was gearing up to make his case before the justices eventually.
And, at this point, he might as well. As his former boss and current Georgia co-defendant once remarked on a different subject: “What the hell do you have to lose?”
As for what Meadows would hope to gain from removal were he to win it, that’s to be determined if he actually succeeds in this gambit. But one thing that’s clear is that it wouldn’t turn a state case into a federal one that could be pardoned. It would just be a state case proceeding in federal court.
Meanwhile, the Georgia case itself has been off on a tangent lately, as Judge Scott McAfee contemplates whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis; arguments on that matter are set for Friday. And while we’re watching what happens with that crucial detour in Fulton County, we’ll be eyeing Meadows' next step in his quest to move to federal court, which could add yet another Donald Trump-related matter to the justices’ already Trump-filled docket.
Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.