Mark Meadows, Trump’s ex-boss, asks judge to protect him from arrest as he seeks to take Georgia case to federal court

Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, asked a federal judge on Tuesday to immediately moves Court filings showed that the case for criminal election interference in Georgia got out of state court in order to protect him from arrest.

As an alternative, a federal court could simply issue an order preventing Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis from arresting Meadows this week, his attorney suggested in 19 pages.

The filing noted that Willis had already denied Meadows’ request for an extension.

Meadows and 18 other defendants in the Willis case, including Trump, face a Friday deadline to surrender to prison.

At least two of his accusers have already done so: pro-Trump attorney John Eastman and Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall were booked and released earlier Monday.

Former President Donald Trump said he would surrender on Thursday.

Meadows is seeking to move the case statewide to federal court. A federal judge in US District Court in Atlanta scheduled a hearing for Monday morning at Meadows’ request.

But Meadows’ attorney, John Moran, argued in the latest court filing that his attempt to move the case would be damaged if he were arrested before that hearing.

“In the absence of court intervention, Mr. Meadows would be denied the protections from arrest that federal law affords former federal officials, and this court’s prompt and orderly consideration of removal would be thwarted,” Moran wrote.

The attorney wrote that Willis had “categorically denied” a request to delay the deadline for his arrest by one day until after the federal court hearing.

The filing included an email from Willis, who wrote on Monday morning, “I grant no extension. I have given two weeks for people to turn themselves in to court. Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction.”

But Moran said Meadows “will be irreparably harmed if the government’s criminal action is not halted.”

“He will be subject to pre-trial detention and state criminal restrictions and, ultimately, to the risk of criminal punishment,” the defense attorney wrote.

The request came two days after Meadows asked the federal court to dismiss charges stemming from Willis’ investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 Georgia election.

Meadows was charged with one count of racketeering and one count of soliciting a breach of oath by a public servant. The final count concerns Meadows’ participation in a January 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to undo Biden’s victory in the state.