Mark Meadows on Tuesday filed notice he's added former George W. Bush-era U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to his legal team
Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Tuesday added more firepower to his legal team in his battle against criminal charges in Georgia by hiring the former U.S. solicitor general from the George W. Bush administration.
In a filing to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Meadows announced he's hired Paul Clement, who represented the United States in matters before the Supreme Court from 2004 to 2008, as well as partner Erin Murphy and associate Zachary Lustbader.
Meadows last month lost in a unanimous 3-0 ruling from the 11th Circuit on his bid to move his part of the Fulton County election racketeering case to federal court. That decision set the stage for Meadows to either file an appeal for a rehearing before the same panel, or for an en banc review before all 12 judges on the 11th Circuit.
A Supreme Court battle petition is also possible from Meadows, who so far has made unsuccessful legal arguments that he can't be charged in state court for alleged crimes tied to his official federal government duties.
Meadows was one of 18 people originally charged alongside Trump in the Georgia criminal case. He's also one of five Trump co-defendants who has been fighting in court to try to get the case out of Fulton County’s state court.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rejected Meadows in September, and the former Trump aide appealed that ruling to the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. A three-judge panel heard oral arguments on the matter in mid-December before upholding Jones' decision on the very next business day.
Notably, the judges upheld Jones’ ruling that Meadows failed to provide a “colorable” defense and did not prove that the alleged acts supporting the charges against him were carried out under the official responsibilities of his office. That's the requirement under the federal statute that would have allowed him to move his case out of state court.