Nov. 30 (UPI) — South Carolina’s supreme court has ordered former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to testify before a Georgia grand jury concerning allegations that former President Donald Trump and his associates attempted to meddle in the 2020 general election.
The five-judge court issued its unanimous ruling Tuesday that reaffirms a lower court’s decision from late last month that declared Meadows is “material and necessary” to an investigation into allegations that Trump attempted to disrupt the administration of the 2020 presidential results in Georgia.
“We have reviewed the arguments raised by Appellant and find them to be manifestly without merit,” the southern state’s high court ruled.
Fani Willis, the district attorney for Georgia’s Fulton County, is leading the investigation into allegations that Trump and those in his inner circle tried to overturn Georgia’s results of the November 2020 general election.
Willis has sought Meadows’ testimony as he has been connected to those efforts, including having been on the line during a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” him 11,780 votes so he could win the southern state.
To compel his testimony, Willis had to seek permission from a judge in Meadows’ home state of South Carolina. After she was granted access to his testimony, Meadows appealed.
The former White House chief of staff was originally supposed to give testimony before the grand jury on Wednesday. It is unclear when he will testify.
Testimony from Meadows is also being sought by the House select committee investigating the assault by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
The court decision on Tuesday also comes a week after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., testified before the Fulton County grand jury in Willis’ investigation.
