A federal appeals court affirmed a ruling Monday denying former White House chief of staff Mark Meadow’s bid to move his Georgia 2020 election case to federal court.

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Meadows, along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other co-defendants, in August for alleged efforts to interfere with the 2020 election in the state. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the federal-officer removal statute does not apply to former federal officials, noting that Meadow’s actions still wouldn’t be considered official duties if it did.

“At bottom, whatever the chief of staff’s role with respect to state election administration, that role does not include altering viable election results in favour of a particular candidate,” William H. Pryor, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the court’s opinion. “So there is no ‘causal connection’ between Meadow’s ‘official authority’ and his alleged participation in the conspiracy.”

Pryor wrote that Meadows could not establish any act outlined in the indictment was “related to his federal office,” noting that the chief of staff has “no role in overseeing signature verifications or recount processes, or in superintending states’ administration of election procedures.”

Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an Obama appointee, wrote separately in a concurring opinion joined by Judge Nancy Abdu, a Biden appointee, to express her view that “not extending the federal-officer removal statute to former officers for prosecutions based on their official actions during their tenure is bad policy.”

“Our decision today has consequences both for former federal officers and the federal government itself,” the judge wrote. “To mitigate those consequences, and to reinforce the purposes of federal-officer removal, I respectfully urge Congress to amend Section 1442(a)(1) to cover former officers.”

Rosenbaum noted that Meadows still would not be covered under the statute even if it was expanded to cover former officers, as he did not demonstrate he acted “under the color of his office.”

Katelynn Richardson on December 18, 2023