Also today - Mark Meadows evidentiary hearing

If a federal judge agrees that Meadows’ actions plausibly fell within the scope of his federal duties, the case may get moved into federal court, and Meadows may be immune from the charges against him, which prosecutors brought under state law.

  Politico

I don't think it's going to happen.

“It was a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week kind of job,” Meadows said during questioning by his lead attorney, George Terwilliger III. “It was a very broad responsibility. … I found myself on defense a lot with things coming at me from a million different directions.”

Poor baby.

Meadows’ appearance was a gamble by his defense team, opening him to cross examination by the prosecution and locking him into a specific description of events in a way that will be difficult for him to vary from if the case goes to trial.

However, it gave Meadows a chance to try personally to persuade U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones that the charges brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis following a lengthy grand jury investigation intrude on fundamental federal responsibilities.

Huge gamble. Jones is not a Trump appointee. In fact, he's a black man appointed by Obama, so hopefully a fair and just jurist.

So far, Jones has shown that he would like to avoid a circus while not giving short shrift to Meadows’ arguments, said Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law. The orders Jones has already issued have hewed tightly to the relevant statutes and case law, and he has moved the proceedings along very efficiently.

Jones is “by the book, which includes quickly and quietly,” Vladeck said.

[...]

Meadows is facing two charges in the Georgia case: racketeering and soliciting Raffensperger to violate his oath of office.

[...]

Four other defendants have joined Meadows in seeking to move their cases to federal court. They include three GOP activists from Georgia who posed falsely as legitimate presidential electors as part of Trump’s bid to stay in power. The other, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, is slated for a similar evidentiary hearing on Sept. 18.

  CNN

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger testified.

The hearing was quite long. Final arguments ended near 7pm.

The judge noted he would give it "thorough consideration" and that it was a "very important case" and would likely set precedent.

The judge added that if he doesn't rule by Sept. 6 -- the date the defendants are set to be arraigned -- he said Meadows will have to go through with the arraignment.

  ABC

Depending on how that statement came about, that seems slightly ominous for Meadows.

Today was a trifecta for Trump coup attempt hearings. Besides this hearing, there was the hearing to set a trial date (March 4, 2024) in front of Judge Tanya Chutkan in DC, and a second hearing in DC federal court for Peter Navarro, charged with defying a Congressional subpoena from the January 6 Committee. 

 And they all no doubt will.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 08:41 pm:

UPDATE 08/30/2023:

UPDATE 08/31/2023:  The gamble did not pay off.