Trump world just lost in criminal court AGAIN
It’s a good thing Donald Trump doesn’t want to try to move his case to federal Court because Judge Steve Jones has turned down every request. Mark Meadows was the first denial, and he immediately appealed the ruling. Last week, Judge Jones denied the request of Jeffrey Clark to move his case to federal court. Clark likely stuck his neck out most of all by drafting a letter, imploring Georgia officials to accept the alternate electors “because of DOJ investigations into the 2020 election that showed purported irregularities.” Clark presented the letter to his superiors, Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Donoghue, both of whom declined to sign.
Clark, like Meadows, claimed that he was acting under color of his position with the federal government, which is even less believable than Meadows’ claims. There is no way that the DOJ asked Clark to write those lies nor did they intend to act on them. In fact, Jeffrey Rosen, who was acting AG at the time, advised Clark that his meeting with Trump at the White House violated DOJ policy. The details surrounding this letter were unearthed by the House Select Committee and have now become part of the RICO case.
Ultimately, Judge Jones ruled that there was no federal jurisdiction over Clark’s prosecution. Perhaps Clark could have helped himself by bothering to appear at the evidentiary hearing. Instead, he submitted a self-serving affidavit that did nothing to sway Judge Jones. He also pointed to evidence to which Clark failed to object, which basically means the defendant accepts the evidence as fact. The dominoes continued to fall as three others attempted to remove their cases to federal court.
Cathy Latham, David Schafer and State Senator Shawn Still also tried removing their cases to federal court to no avail. Latham is the county clerk who allowed voting machines to be breached. David Schafer was the head of the Georgia GOP, and Shawn Still is a state senator. None of them had any federal authority to do anything, though they tried. They claimed that their roles as alternate electors gave them federal authority, which was likely the most ridiculous thing Judge Jones has heard in these cases. Jones penned three separate orders, and in all three he wrote: “The Court first determines that presidential electors are not federal officers. Jones pointed out that electors act for the states they represent and are merely ceremonial parties who transmit ballots to Congress.
He further ruled that being an elector does not make one a federal officer even if they were federal electors. “To find otherwise would convert all citizens who can lawfully vote in federal officers when they cast their ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives.” In other words, nice try, but no cigar. Shawn Still’s attorney said he was “disappointed” in the ruling. Read the ruling Judge Jones made in Clark’s case, and you can easily understand why all five cases failed in removal. They should be more concerned about Scott Hall, who has plead guilty and turned state’s evidence. This is way more frightening than being tried in state court.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years