Attorney Bannister tried to persuade Circuit Court Judge Edward W. Miller that the special grand jury in Georgia was not criminal in nature, even though a judge ruled that it is.
Despite attempts to avoid testifying before a grand jury in Georgia, Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff under President Donald Trump, has been ordered to travel to Atlanta to testify in a criminal investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
As detailed as part of the investigation, Mark Meadows was involved in efforts to keep Donald Trump in the presidency during the 2020 elections. The evidence puts Meadows at the center of various acts he committed, such as traveling to the county of Cobb to be present during the votes.
Mark Meadows did not show up for the hearing Wednesday morning. In court, Attorney Bannister tried to persuade Circuit Court Judge Edward W. Miller that the special grand jury in Georgia was not criminal in nature.
For almost two years, the Furton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, has led the investigation and one of the testimonies that she considers important is that of the former chief of staff, who had defended himself to avoid giving statements.
Attorney James Bannister had responded with a document in which he argued that Mark Meadows had exercised executive privilege, so he was not a “material and necessary witness.” He also appealed that the request they sent to South Carolina only applies to criminal proceedings, so he is not going to proceed because the investigation is civil.
But the judge in South Carolina, the state where Mark Meadows currently resides, noted that Fulton County Judge Robert C.I. McBurney, who is overseeing the Atlanta proceeding, had considered the issue and recently ruled that the special grand jury was indeed criminal in nature.
Likewise, several dates had already been determined in November, after sending the request to South Carolina and they order him to appear in one of them. Meadows’ attorney, James Bannister, said he would appeal the decision.
Bannister would resort to a legal strategy that has been used in Texas, where three witnesses were called by Fulton County but did not appear. This was because a majority of the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals felt that the Georgia grand jury was not a proper criminal grand jury because it lacked the authority to indict and compel witnesses from Texas.
A number of Trump allies have already appeared before the grand jury to give testimony, including attorney John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Pat Cipollone and Rudy Giuliani testified in August. On the other hand, those who have refused to appear to testify are Lindsey Graham, Michael Flynn and Newt Gingrich.
Prosecutor Willis’s office is seeking testimony from lawmakers who have refused, but could choose to make the depositions in the states where they currently live if their local courts decline to produce them.