Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’s effort to move his Fulton County, Georgia racketeering case to the federal court has been denied by the federal court in Northern Georgia, Kyle Cheney of Politico reports.  This does not bode well for other defendants’ attempts to do the same in the RICO case.

In his ruling, Judge Steven C. Jones, an Obama appointee, found Meadows’s claims that he was acting in his official capacity as Chief of Staff did not hold up under scrutiny, and therefore he was not acting under the color of his official duties.

“Instead, the evidence before the Court overwhelmingly suggests that Meadows was not acting in his scope of executive branch duties during most of the Overt Acts alleged,” the opinion reads.  “Even if Meadows took on tasks that mirror the duties that he carried out when acting in his official role as White House Chief of Staff (such as attending meetings, scheduling phone calls, and managing the President’s time) he has failed to demonstrate how the election-related activities that serve as the basis for the charges in the Indictment are related to any of his official acts.  As the substance of the overt acts constituted a significant part of Meadows’s testimony and proof of his acting within the scope of his federal office, the Court concludes that based on the factual evidence, Meadows was not acting in the scope of his office for purposes of federal officer removal.”

As Neal Katyal noted, the opinion may also block attempts by Trump and others claiming to be working for the Office of the President, not candidate Trump.  “The Constitution does not provide any basis for executive branch involvement with State election and post-election procedures,” Jones wrote, possibly signaling skepticism of any claim from Trump or others that these alleged crimes constituted official Presidential acts.