By JACQUES BILLEAUD

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge has rejected a bid by Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump, to move his charges in Arizona’s fake elector case to federal court, marking the second time he has failed in trying to get his charges out of state court.

In a decision Monday, U.S. District Judge John Tuchi said Meadows missed a deadline for asking for his charges to be moved to federal court, didn’t offer a good reason for doing so and failed to show that the allegations against him related to his official duties as chief of staff to the president.

Meadows faces charges in Arizona and Georgia in what authorities allege was an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Trump’s favor. He had unsuccessfully tried to move charges in the Georgia case last year. It’s unknown whether Meadows will appeal the decision. The Associated Press left phone and email messages for two of Meadows’ attorneys.

While not a fake elector in Arizona, prosecutors said Meadows, while chief of staff, worked with other Trump campaign members to submit names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress in a bid to keep Trump in office despite his November 2020 defeat. Meadows has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Arizona and Georgia.

In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.

The decision sends Meadows’ case back down to Maricopa County Superior Court.

In both Arizona and Georgia, Meadows argued his charges should be moved to federal court because his actions were taken when he was a federal official working as Trump’s chief of staff and that he has immunity under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says federal law trumps state law.

Arizona prosecutors said Meadows’ electioneering efforts weren’t part of his official duties at the White House.

Meadows last year tried to get his Georgia charges moved but his request was rejected by a judge whose ruling was later affirmed by an appeals court. Meadows has since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling.

The Arizona indictment says Meadows confided to a White House staff member in early November 2020 that Trump had lost the election. Prosecutors say Meadows also had arranged meetings and calls with state officials to discuss the fake elector conspiracy.

Meadows and other defendants are seeking a dismissal of the Arizona case.

Meadows’ attorneys said nothing their client is alleged to have done in Arizona was criminal. They said the indictment consists of allegations that he received messages from people trying to get ideas in front of Trump — or “seeking to inform Mr. Meadows about the strategy and status of various legal efforts by the president’s campaign.”

In all, 18 Republicans were charged in late April in Arizona’s fake electors case. The defendants include 11 Republicans who had submitted a document falsely claiming Trump had won Arizona, another Trump aide and five lawyers connected to the former president.

In August, Trump’s campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors that led to the dismissal of her charges. Republican activist Loraine Pellegrino became the first person to be convicted in the Arizona case when she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to probation.

The remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty to the forgery, fraud and conspiracy charges in Arizona.

Trump wasn’t charged in Arizona, but the indictment refers to him as an unindicted coconspirator.

The 11 people who were nominated to be Arizona’s Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and claimed Trump had carried the state.

A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme.

The final two Minnesota Sinfonia concerts will take place Oct. 18 and 20.

Last October, the chamber orchestra’s board of directors announced the nonprofit would shut down in January 2025. The two upcoming concerts will serve as the group’s farewell to audiences. Music in the Schools performances and related materials will continue to be available to school districts free of charge into the winter of 2025. At the time of dissolution, any remaining assets will be distributed pursuant to the sinfonia’s articles and bylaws and any applicable nonprofit laws.

The free concerts will feature Sergei Prokovief’s Overture on Hebrew Themes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D major and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3. Each concert will be followed by an open reception.

The Oct. 18 performance will take place at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s First Covenant Church.

On Oct. 20, the group’s final public concert will happen at 2 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis.

The sinfonia was founded by conductor Jay Fishman in 1989, who has also spent the past 36 years as artistic director. His idea was to create a professional orchestra that would perform free concerts to ensure live classical music was available in underserved and low-income communities in Minnesota.

From its founding, the orchestra has performed more than 1,600 concerts for more than 500,000 attendees.

For more information, see mnsinfonia.org.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Twins added another pitcher to the mix on Monday. Now they have to figure out the best way to use him.

The Twins on Monday claimed veteran Cole Irvin off of waivers from the Baltimore Orioles, who had recently designated him for assignment. He is expected to join the team in Cleveland, at which point the Twins will need to make a move to add him to the 28-man roster.

Irvin has been used as both a starter and reliever this season in Baltimore, last starting on Aug. 27, and the Twins could opt to use him in either role.

“I could see him pitching in different roles for us,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I could see him sometimes giving us an inning or giving us five innings. I can’t tell you exactly when we’re going to use him and what that role will be in that first game. … But he’s definitely a guy that is versatile. He’s definitely a guy that has been through and experienced a lot of different things in the game.”

The lefty, who has pitched for parts of six seasons in the majors, had a 4.86 earned-run average this season with the Orioles across 107 1/3 innings.

Though Irvin was added to the organization too late to potentially help in the postseason, the Twins believe that he can help them down the stretch.

“When we made the claim, looking at our group, we were thinking how do we lengthen out what we already have?” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “He’s a guy with starting experience and bullpen experience. He knows how to pitch in both roles. He has pitched in both roles. His makeup is really good. … It just gives us another option.”

The Twins of late have been rolling out a rotation with three rookie starters — Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews and David Festa — along with veterans Pablo López and Bailey Ober.

As the trio of rookies pitch deep into September, they’re into territory where they’ve taken on a heavier workload than ever, surpassing the most number of innings they’ve ever thrown in a professional season. Lately, none have been working more than five innings.

“We’re going to have to talk to him and see what he’s really capable of before we can even assess what Cole’s role is going to be,” Baldelli said. “We have three young starters … who are going through September for the first time, too, and they’re guys that we’re going to have to find way to put in the right spots to succeed. We’ll assess over the next day or two.”

Larnach slowed by hamstring

As he carefully approached second base on Sunday after hitting a double, it was clear Trevor Larnach was slowed by something.

That something, Baldelli said, is hamstring soreness, which is preventing him from running at 100 percent. Larnach, who did not start on Monday with a left-hander on the mound, has not played in the outfield in a game since Sept. 10, but he has still been out there DHing for the Twins.

“It’s not affecting his swing,” Baldelli said. “A lot of the times if you know a guy is dealing with a muscle injury and it’s affecting his swing, you’re going to slow things down. You’re going to have to give him a little bit of time. He’s still putting really good at-bats together, having really good swings.”

Briefly

To make room on the 40-man roster for Irvin, the Twins designated Randy Dobnak for assignment. … The Twins promoted pitching prospects Marco Raya and Cory Lewis from Double-A to Triple-A, where they will get a brief taste of the highest level of the minor leagues before the Saints’ season ends on Sunday.

A new piece of artwork featuring the city of Cottage Grove was unveiled over the weekend.

The painting, by folk artist Eric Dowdle, has been turned into a puzzle and is available for purchase, city officials said.

A new painting by folk artist Eric Dowdle has been turned into a puzzle available for purchase at Cottage Grove City Hall. (Courtesy of the City of Cottage Grove)

City officials commissioned the $75,000 artwork “to capture the past and present of the community,” officials said in a statement. It was funded through the city’s Economic Development Authority.

Famous faces and places who shaped the community are featured in the painting, including Boondocks, The Rush, the Cottage View Drive-In theater, the Historic Furber Farm, Cedarhurst, the Strawberry Fest Ferris Wheel, Shepard Farm, the city’s Ice Arena and Mayor Myron Bailey and the rest of the Cottage Grove City Council.

Dowdle, who lives in Lindon, Utah, said he “gained a deep appreciation for the history, places and people of Cottage Grove … during the process of creating this painting. It was my goal to capture what makes it such a special place to live.”

Dowdle’s painting and a wooden puzzle showing Dowdle’s artwork will be displayed at Cottage Grove City Hall.

Puzzles are available to purchase at City Hall in 500- or 1,000-piece sets; the price is $28 and $30, respectively. The puzzle sales will help the city recover the cost of the painting, said City Administrator Jennifer Levitt.

Puzzles also can be purchased online at cottagegrovestore.com.

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