A version of this story appeared in the On Background newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive On Background delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.
Mark Meadows, President Trump’s former White House chief of staff, took the witness stand Monday and refuted allegations made by prosecutors in Georgia accusing him of illegally plotting to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential elections.
During nearly four hours of testimony, Mr. Meadows insisted his actions fell squarely within his role as chief of staff.
“I don’t know that I did anything that was outside my role as chief of staff,” Mr. Meadows testified. “I saw it as part of my role. The president gave clear direction to deal with it.”
He told the court that serving Mr. Trump “takes on all kinds of forms” and that his work had a “political component to certainly everything.”
Mr. Meadows was charged this month along with Mr. Trump and 17 other people as part of a sprawling indictment filed by Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis. The indictment accuses the 19 defendants of racketeering and other crimes to ensure Mr. Trump stayed in power.
He took the stand as part of his bid to have the charges against him relocated to federal court. Mr. Meadows’ legal team has argued that his actions after the 2020 election occurred as part of his service as Mr. Trump’s chief of staff. They have argued that the charges against him should be dismissed, but barring that, move the case to the federal level and stop the proceedings against him at the state level.
But prosecutor Anna Cross pressed Mr. Meadows to outline which federal policies he was advancing while carrying out the acts alleged in the indictment.
Ms. Cross pushed him to explain the phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Raffensperger in which the former president asked the secretary of state to “find” 11,780 votes to win Georgia.
Mr. Meadows defended the phone call, saying it was to find a “less litigious way” to resolve what the Trump team viewed as voting issues. He said ensuring a fair and accurate election result was in the federal interest, but Ms. Cross accused him repeatedly of not answering her question.
Speaking in court Monday, Mr. Meadows’ attorneys said moving the case to federal court requires them to meet “the lowest evidentiary burden one can imagine.”
The defense just needs to show some kind of “connections” to his duties and the activities alleged in the indictment.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, an Obama appointee, listened to testimony from Mr. Meadows and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. He did not give any indication of when he would issue his decision.
Ms. Willis’ team has argued in the indictment that Mr. Meadows’ behavior was aimed at keeping Mr. Trump in office and was illegal under the Hatch Act, a federal law that bars partisan political activity by federal employees.
Mr. Meadows strongly denied one allegation in the indictment. He insisted that he never asked White House personnel officer John McEntee to draft a memo to Vice President Mike Pence on how to delay President Biden’s election certification.
“When this came out in the indictment, it was the biggest surprise for me,” Mr. Meadows told the courtroom. “Me asking Johnny McEntee for this kind of a memo just didn’t happen.”
Mr. Raffensperger testified that the federal government plays no role in the certification of elections. He said Mr. Trump’s phone call was “outreach to the extent that was extraordinary.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.