For those who didn't bother to read past the title:

When I read Fani Willis’s response last night, I whistled in admiration. As a one-time avid chess player myself, I recognize a “fork” trap when I see one. A fork move is when a single piece attacks more than one piece simultaneously, as when a knight threatens both a queen and a rook from its new position. When executed correctly, no matter what the opponent does next, it will lead to a body blow.

That is the trap Willis has laid out in her papers. She begins by arguing that, under the Hatch Act, federal officials within the Executive Branch are forbidden from engaging in political activity in the course of their work. That means no campaigning, for example, from the White House or by White House staff, including the chief of staff. It includes a specific prohibition on anyone “us[ing] his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”

But isn’t that precisely what Meadows is accused of doing? Willis brings the hammer down hard on this point, noting that the Office of the Special Counsel found that Meadows and at least a dozen other Trump officials violated the Hatch Act.