Topline
Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, was granted immunity for testifying under oath about Trump’s role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, ABC News reported.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was reportedly granted immunity in exchange for … [+]
Key Facts
Meadows spoke with special counsel Jack Smith’s team—which is leading the case against Trump for his attempts to overturn the election and his mishandling of classified documents—at least three times this year, ABC News reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
He testified in front of a federal grand jury only after Smith gave him immunity, the report says.
Meadows told Smith’s team that Trump was “dishonest” to voters when he claimed he won the election on November 3, 2020, and that following the election, he told Trump a number of times the voter fraud claims were baseless—despite saying in his book that election was “stolen” and “rigged.”
Key Background
Meadows was Trump’s final chief of staff during his time in the White House and is facing charges in Georgia over his involvement in Trump’s attempt to overturn election results. Meadows has pleaded not guilty in Georgia, arguing the actions mentioned in his indictment were under the purview of his role as White House chief of staff. The Georgia indictment accuses Meadows—who was on the infamous phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump directed him to “find” the votes needed to win—of participating in a campaign to pressure the secretary of state to violate his oath of office, and committing several other acts as part of the racketeering conspiracy. Recently, in an interview with NBC, Trump said he hoped Meadows stayed “loyal” to him, and when asked if he was worried about Meadows “flipping,” Trump said “I didn’t do anything wrong,” the New York Times reported.
What To Watch For
Whether Meadows changes how he’s pleading in his Georgia case. So far, four of Trump’s other co-defendants in the case have taken plea deals, including attorney Sidney Powell and attorney Jenna Ellis.
Further Reading
