CNN
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A South Carolina judge ruled Wednesday that Trump is a former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Atlanta-area grand jury to appear for testimony in 2020 election meddling trial
“I’m going to find that the witness is necessary to the trial and that the state of Georgia will not cause him undue hardship,” said Judge Edward Miller, who sits in the southern Pickens County Common Pleas Court. CAROLINA — said at the end of Wednesday morning’s hearing.
The matter was before a South Carolina judge because Meadows now lives in South Carolina and Atlanta-area prosecutors sought an order there to compel him to comply with the subpoena.
Meadows plans to appeal the verdict, her attorney James Bannister told CNN.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, which is leading the special grand jury investigation in Georgia, said in court filings that they have several dates in November that would accommodate Meadows’ testimony.
Meadows’ arguments for why he shouldn’t comply with a subpoena met with skepticism from a South Carolina judge, who questioned the relevance of some of the evidence Meadows’ attorney tried to present in the less than hour-long hearing. . Miller jumped in when a question Bannister posed to an attorney involved in the Atlanta investigation suggested a biased motivation in the investigation.
“This is not a political trial,” Miller told Bannister, calling the trial “far removed” from the controversy before the South Carolina court.
Some of the legal arguments Meadows raises are claims that have been considered by other courts, but the judge said they are not relevant to the ruling before him.
A CNN reporter describes the pro-Trump activist’s speeches from Meadows
Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis A special purpose grand jury is leading an investigation into efforts to manipulate Georgia’s 2020 election results. The investigation was triggered by Infamous call between Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State, in which Trump asked secretary Brad Raffensberger to “find” the votes that would confirm his victory. But the investigation has grown into allegations of bogus voter conspiracy, presentations by Trump associates to Georgia lawmakers, claims of bogus voter fraud and Trump-world intrigue since then.
Atlanta-area investigators are seeking Meadows’ testimony, pointing to his involvement in the Trump-Raffensperger call and a December 2020 White House meeting about election fraud claims made by Meadows. Their records indicate his visits to the site where an audit of Georgia’s election was underway and emails Meadows sent to Justice Department officials about unsubstantiated fraud allegations.
Meadows argued in court filings that the South Carolina law used by the Fulton County district attorney to compel his appearance does not apply to the subpoena in question. Meadow’s lawyer, citing investigative executive privilege concerns, pointed to a federal court case she filed challenging the House Select Committee’s Jan. 6 subpoena.
Will Wooten — a deputy district attorney in Willis’ office who testified as a witness at the trial — noted that Meadows traveled to the Georgia audit site by himself. “There are many places where executive privilege is not an issue,” Wooten said.
Other former Trump associates, including his then-lawyer Jenna Ellis, have brought similar challenges to subpoenas from the Fulton County investigation — but most have so far been unsuccessful. However, a Texas attorney who participated in presentations to Georgia lawmakers was able to defeat Willis’ office in such a subpoena dispute.
A Sen. to stop the subpoena. Lindsey Graham bids His testimony is currently on trial before the US Supreme Court.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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