A federal judge on Friday rejected former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ bid to move his Georgia criminal case to federal court, a significant setback for Meadows and a troubling sign for former President Donald Trump.

The ruling against Meadows has significant implications for the former president and their 17 co-defendants in the Fulton County district attorney’s sprawling racketeering case. Meadows was the first of five defendants who already filed motions to move the case to federal court – and Trump is expected to do so, too.

Here’s the meat of the judge’s ruling denying Meadows’s request pic.twitter.com/Sa8rlXLXrH

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 8, 2023

[I’m a little surprised. Meadows had the best argument for removal, as his actions alleged in the indictment involved tasks that were clearly part of his federal employment as Trump’s chief of staff. Jeffrey Clarke also seemed well positioned for a removal claim. If Meadows’ application failed on the basis of the order highlighted by Blake, though, Trump’s clearly won’t succeed, at least not with this district court judge. We’ll see what happens on appeal, which is certain to follow. — Ed]