Judge tosses Mark Meadows' bid to obtain White House records for use in Ga. criminal case

Source: Politico

10/22/2024 02:00 PM EDT


A federal judge has thrown out former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ bid to obtain a large trove of records from the National Archives aimed at bolstering his defense against criminal charges in Georgia. U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly ruled on Tuesday that Meadows’ effort — which he initially brought in a local D.C. court but was transferred to federal court — was flawed from the start.

Though a judge in Georgia had authorized Meadows to pursue the records, Kelly noted that state courts rarely have authority over action taken against a federal agency. “The Court cannot bypass this jurisdictional defect,” Kelly, a Donald Trump appointee, ruled.

Meadows had hoped to access emails, text messages and other White House documents held by the National Archives to help prepare his defense against criminal charges brought against him in Georgia for his role in aiding Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 results in the state.

Meadows has remained largely below the radar since Trump left office in 2021, resisting an appearance before the House Jan. 6 select committee even as he turned over text messages that became a roadmap for the panel’s investigation. Meadows was also compelled by a federal judge to testify to special counsel Jack Smith’s team last year.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/22/mark-meadows-georgia-criminal-case-00184897