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The Mark Meadows Comedy Show
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The Mark Meadows Comedy Show

Stephen Humphreys on the unintentionally comedic attempt by Trump's former chief of staff to get his indictment for election interference moved from Georgia state court to federal court

Sep 11, 2023
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Mugshot of Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to former President Trump. Photo: © Fulton County Sheriff'S Office via ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy Stock Photo

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Did Mark Meadows’ removal hearing provide a preview of his new act, based on old material recycled from Trump administration?

The indicted Trump chief of staff brought his comedy routine to federal court in Atlanta. No matter what the result of his attempt to remove his prosecution from state to federal court – the judge has now denied it – his own performance will have lasting consequences for all the alleged conspirators, including the captain. Taking the witness stand to address the question of whether he acted in scope of federal duties, Meadows portrayed a White House zanier than any Monty Python skit.

Even Meadows’ lawyer George Terrwilliger conjured up comic images of a big-eared Tricky Dick when he floated the Nixon-Frost defense, that if the President’s chief of staff does it, it is within the scope of his duties. The circular logic did get some laughs – and gasps, in memory of Watergate – from the courtroom audience.

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