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 testifies about Raffensperger call
Mark Meadows said on the stand that he wasn't sure whether the lawyers on then-President Donald Trump's phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were Trump's personal attorneys or lawyers for the Trump campaign.
The prosecutor then asked Meadows if he didn't know what roles they had then "why did you want them on the call?" At that moment the judge shook his head in seeming bewilderment.
Meadows said the purpose of the phone call was to find a "less litigious way" to resolve an issue regarding signature match in Fulton County, Georgia.
Repeatedly asked about how the call with Raffensperger came about, Meadows said he reached out to Raffensperger himself once and then reached out to a staff member of the secretary of state's office, but he said neither of them answered and he does not recall how the call was eventually facilitated.
He said Trump himself asked to reach out to Raffensperger.
Asked about his conversations with Cleta Mitchell, one of the three lawyers involved in the call, Meadows said he spoke with her about a variety of aspects related to Georgia and alleged election fraud but said he doesn't recall the specifics.
-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab, Will Steakin and Soorin Kim
Meadows: 'I don't know that I did anything that was outside of my role'
Court is in a brief recess after Mark Meadows testified for nearly three hours without breaks.
On the stand, Meadows firmly stood by his actions -- including observing the audit in Cobb County, Georgia, and setting up then-President Donald Trump's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger -- putting it squarely as part of his role as chief of staff.
"I don't know that I did anything that was outside of my role as chief of staff," Meadows testified.
"I saw it as part of my role," Meadows said. "The president gave clear direction to deal with it."
Meadows said serving Trump "takes on all kinds of forms" and that much of the work had a "political component to certainly everything."
Meadows was careful with his words, at one point saying he didn't want to say anything incorrectly, while joking, "I'm in enough trouble as it is."
Attorneys for Trump were seated in the second row as Meadows testified.
-ABC News' Mike Levine, Aaron Katersky and Will Steakin
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' lawyers make final argument to judge
Mark Meadows’ legal team began its final argument to the judge.
They contended that removing this case to federal court requires them to meet "the lowest evidentiary burden one can imagine."
The defense just needs to show "some kind of… connection to the duties" of chief of staff to warrant removal, Meadows’ lawyer said.
He said a "critical aspect" of Meadows’ testimony Monday was that he took the actions he did related to the Jan. 2, 2021, call to get "closure" so the government could move on "to the rest of the transition and peaceful transfer of power."
The lawyer also said that "the federal government has a huge role in post-election matters."
-ABC News' Mike Levine