Former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, has entered a plea of not guilty to racketeering charges in Georgia, according to a court filing made public on Tuesday.
The charges allege that Meadows, along with 18 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, attempted to manipulate the results of the 2020 election.
The group, led by Trump, was indicted in Fulton County on August 14, facing a total of 41 charges. Meadows' plea, submitted via a court filing, allowed him to bypass a scheduled arraignment hearing on Wednesday. He remains free on a $100,000 bond while awaiting trial.
The court filing, submitted on Friday and made public on Tuesday, reveals that Meadows has discussed the charges with his attorney, James Durham. He has also waived his right to an arraignment hearing.
Meadows is currently battling to have his case transferred from Fulton County Superior Court to federal court. He argues that his former federal position should shield him from state-level charges. Four other co-defendants, including former assistant attorney general Jeffrey Clark, Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer, state Sen. Shawn Still, and Cathy Latham, are also seeking to move their cases to federal court. They, too, have entered not guilty pleas and waived their hearings.
Additional co-defendants who entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday include John Eastman, Michael Roman, and Harrison Floyd. These pleas were submitted over the Labor Day holiday weekend and made public on Tuesday.
Several other co-defendants, including Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Ray Smith, Robert Cheeley, Trevian Kutti, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, Scott Hall, and Stephen Lee, have previously submitted written pleas of not guilty and waived their rights to a hearing.
The only co-defendant whose plea has not yet been made public is Misty Hampton.
Meadows' argument for moving his case to federal court is based on his status as a federal official at the time of the alleged actions.
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