Former President Donald Trump has formally notified the judge overseeing his criminal trial in Georgia that he may try to move the case to federal court.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers hinted that they would try to move the case from the Superior Court in Fulton County, Georgia, to a federal court after former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows filed the motion in August.
“President Trump hereby notifies the Court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court,” his lawyer Steven Sadow said in the filing on Thursday. “To be timely, his notice of removal must be filed within 30 days of his arrangement.”
The former president waived his right to an arraignment and entered a not-guilty plea on Aug. 31.
There are potential benefits for Mr. Trump if he can get Judge Scott McAfee to agree to send it to federal court. The date of the trial could be delayed due to the movement of the case and the jury pool could be more sympathetic since they wouldn’t come exclusively from Fulton County.
A federal law allows an “officer of the United States” who is prosecuted or sued in state court to move the case to federal court if they can show that the action was done within the scope of their governmental duties.
In Georgia, Mr. Trump is accused of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to undermine the 2020 election under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Some of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants have already attempted to move their trials to federal court. Mr. Meadows testified at a federal court hearing last week in a bid to transfer his case out of the state court. More hearings are scheduled later this month for former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, and David Shafer, who was a fake elector in Georgia.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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