As was expected for some time, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has been granted immunity and has provided explosive testimony to special counsel Jack Smith’s team. According to ABC News, Meadows revealed that he repeatedly warned former President Donald Trump about the baseless nature of the allegations of significant voting fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
This revelation goes against Trump’s relentless lies regarding the election. Meadows also disclosed that Trump was “dishonest” with the public when he prematurely claimed victory on election night, before the final results were in.
The information shared by Meadows sheds light on the evidence amassed by Smith’s team, as they prosecute Trump for allegedly attempting to unlawfully retain power and spreading lies about the 2020 election. It also exposes the extent to which Trump loyalists, like Meadows, have gone to support and defend the former president. Meadows’ testimony contradicts assertions made in his book, “The Chief’s Chief,” where he claimed the election was “stolen” and “rigged.” However, behind closed doors, Meadows admitted to Smith’s investigators that he has never seen any evidence of fraud that would have impacted the election’s outcome.
The revelations from Meadows’ testimony destroy the credibility of Trump’s claims of the stolen election. Meadows’ admission that he privately informed Trump about the lack of evidence produced by Rudy Giuliani, the former president’s legal representative, is particularly interesting. It suggests that Meadows, along with then-Attorney General Bill Barr, were aware that the allegations of election fraud were not substantiated. Despite this knowledge, Meadows assisted Trump in vetting the fraud allegations, prolonging the false narrative of a stolen election.
As you might imagine, The Don has gone wild on Truth Social. In his Fulton County, Georgia criminal case related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, former Trump is prohibited from discussing the case’s details with his co-defendants or potential witnesses. He is also barred from intimidating them or obstructing the legal process in any way. The post below is very likely witness tampering.
The implications of Meadows’ testimony extend beyond the election itself. It shows that Meadows’ book, which Trump himself promoted, is a pile of horseshit. Meadows’ admission that he does not believe some of the statements in his own book, particularly regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the fraud allegations, is a deliberate dissemination of misinformation.