A federal judge Monday rejected an effort by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to move his Arizona indictment to federal court in a case focused on efforts to overturn Donald Trump‘s 2020 electoral defeat.
U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi said Meadows missed a deadline to file his request and “has failed to show good cause that might permit the Court to excuse the untimeliness.”
Tuchi said Meadows had “failed to demonstrate the offenses charged in the state’s prosecution relate to his” official duties when he was Trump’s chief of staff.
An attorney for Meadows, who has pleaded not guilty, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
In April, a state grand jury in Arizona indicted Meadows and 17 other defendants, including former Trump aides Rudy Giuliani, Boris Epshteyn and 11 so-called fake electors over efforts to overturn Trump’s election loss in the state in 2020.
Prosecutors allege that Meadows worked with members of Trump’s campaign to organize and carry out a scheme for false Republican electors’ votes in Arizona and six other states.
Weeks after the election in 2020, 11 Trump supporters met and signed a certificate falsely proclaiming Trump the victor in Arizona, even though Joe Biden won the state by 10,457 votes and state officials had certified his electors.
Each defendant was charged with nine felony counts, including conspiracy, forgery and fraudulent schemes and practices.
In August 2023, Meadows and Trump were among more than a dozen people who were indicted on state felony charges in Georgia tied to similar efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Four of the original 19 co-defendants pleaded guilty in that case; Meadows, Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
Meadows lost an attempt to move his indictment in that case to federal court.
The judge overseeing the case in Fulton County, Georgia, threw out three of the initial 41 counts in the indictment this month, including two brought against Trump. The case remains on hold over efforts to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as prosecutor.
Trump’s federal case on efforts to overturn the 2020 election has stalled in Washington, D.C., with no trial date set.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in Georgia and Washington.
