Mark Meadows tries to move his charges in Arizona’s fake electors case to federal court

PHOENIX (AP) — Former Donald Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows wants to move his charges in Arizona’s fake electors case to federal court, just as he unsuccessfully tried to do last year in an election subversion case in Georgia.

In a court filing made available on Wednesday, attorneys representing Meadows in Arizona asked a federal judge to move the case to U.S. District Court, arguing Meadows’ actions were taken when he was a federal official working as Trump’s chief of staff. They also said they would later seek a dismissal of the charges in federal court.

U.S. District Judge John Tuchi, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, has scheduled a Sept. 5 hearing to consider Meadows’ request.

Meadows faces charges in Arizona and Georgia in what state authorities alleged was an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Trump’s favor. President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.

While not a fake elector in Arizona, prosecutors said Meadows worked with other Trump campaign members to submit names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress in a bid to keep Trump in office despite his November 2020 defeat.

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