Donald Trump likely won't be able to move his Georgia criminal case to federal court, according to a legal expert who cited the decision in Mark Meadows' request for the same treatment.
Meadows, the former president's chief of staff at the time of the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt, lost his bid to move the Georgia case late Friday afternoon. The court said "that Meadows has not met his burden" to show he acted within the authority of his position in the federal government under his president.
Former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal said it's near impossible to see how that ruling doesn't foreclose a similar bid being floated by Trump.
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"Speed reading, but Meadows' loss appears to doom any attempt by Trump to move the Georgia case to federal court," Katyal wrote, pointing to a line from the opinion:
"The Constitution does not provide any basis for executive branch involvement w/State election&post-election procedures."
He then added:
"The Judge at the end of his opinion says his ruling doesn't directly control any other defendant's removal action. But it's very hard, if not impossible, to see how any Executive Branch removal action could succeed, given the reasoning. It's dead, as it very well should be."
