Georgia election hearing updates: Court adjourns with no decision yet in Meadows case
Mark Meadows took the stand on Monday.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, charged along with 18 others in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, took the stand on Monday to try to have his trial moved from state to federal court.
Among other charges, the indictment cites Meadows' role in the infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call then-President Donald Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger -- actions that Meadows argues he took as a federal official acting "under color" of his office.
Latest headlines:
- Hearing ends, no decision from the judge
- Raffensperger: Trump's 'outreach to that extent was extraordinary'
- Meadows dodges questions on if he believed Trump won election
- Meadows: 'I don't know that I did anything that was outside of my role'
- Meadows describes 'biggest surprise' in indictment
- Meadows says his role was to be in almost every meeting Trump had
Meadows asked about text to Georgia Secretary of State chief investigator
The state pressured former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about a text Meadows sent to Georgia Secretary of State chief investigator Frances Watson that read: "Is there any way to speed up Fulton County signature verdicts in order to have results before Jan. 6 if Trump campaign assist financially?"
Meadows claimed he was in a unique relationship, acting as chief of staff but not offering federal funds.
When prosecutors asked why he was making a financial offer, Meadows claimed he was trying to ask if the speed of counting was due to an overtime issue or financial constraint.
-ABC News' Danielle Jennings, Riley Hoffman and Will Steakin
Meadows describes 'biggest surprise' in indictment
Testifying about specific acts alleged in the indictment, Mark Meadows denied some allegations and attempted to describe his involvement as within his duties as White House chief of staff.
The indictment alleged that Meadows and then-President Donald Trump met with White House aide John McEntee twice in December 2020 and requested he prepare a memo about disrupting and delaying the Jan. 6 Joint Session of Congress.
"The strategy included having Vice President Michael R. 'Mike' Pence count only half of the electoral votes from certain states and then return the remaining electoral votes to state legislatures," according to the indictment.
Meadows denied requesting the memo and described that portion of the indictment as the "biggest surprise to me."
Another section of the indictment alleged Meadows traveled to Georgia on Dec. 22, 2020, to observe a signature match audit, which was not open to the public. Officials from the Georgia Secretary of State office and Georgia Bureau of Investigation prevented Meadows from observing the audit, according to the indictment.
Meadows testified that he observed the counting progress and that his actions fell within his responsibilities as chief of staff, including reporting his findings back to Trump.
"I believe I acted like a gentleman," Meadows testified about the interaction.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous, Riley Hoffman and Will Steakin
Meadows recounts December 2020 meeting about election-related allegations
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on the stand that he maintained a "general awareness" of efforts following the 2020 presidential election to investigate allegations of fraud, but he added that there are some things he has only learned recently.
Meadows was asked about a meeting at the White House in December 2020 where Attorney General William Barr said he would resign. Meadows recalled that the meeting was about election-related allegations concerning fraud and election irregularities. He testified that Barr told then-President Donald Trump a lot of the election claims "had no merit" and that "some of it, to use his terms, was 'bulls---.'"
Meadows said he attended a meeting in the Oval Office with Michigan state legislators over allegations of potential fraud in his "official capacity as chief of staff" because he needed to be able to advise Trump.
-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab
Meadows says his role was to be in almost every meeting Trump had
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on the stand Monday that his role involved setting up meetings and communications with various agencies and states.
Meadows said his role was to be in almost every meeting the president had, and he described his role as more difficult than he could have imagined. He described the time after the 2020 election as more than he could handle.
-ABC News' Riley Hoffman
Meadows dodges questions on if he believed Trump won election
Mark Meadows repeatedly dodged the prosecution's questions on whether he believed Donald Trump's claims about the results of the 2020 presidential election.
"He believed he won," Meadows said, to which the prosecution pressed, "Did you believe that?"
"I believed there were additional things that needed to be investigated," Meadows replied, without saying whether he personally believed Trump won the 2020 election.
The prosecution repeatedly pressed Meadows, asking at one point if he meant that he did not have enough information to come to his own conclusion.
Meadows again deflected, saying there were a number of allegations, but he believed the signature verification issue in Fulton County, Georgia, had more credibility than the other allegations.
-ABC News' Soorin Kim