As the investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged election interference in Georgia has unfolded, Mark Meadows’ perspective has grown increasingly important. It was on Dec. 21, 2020, for example, when the then-chief of staff attended a highly controversial White House meeting that, according to Meadows’ own comments, explored allegations of voter fraud in the state of Georgia.
One day later, Meadows flew to Georgia, went to the Cobb County Civic Center where an absentee ballot signature-match audit was underway, and asked if he could personally observe the process. (Because the audit was closed to the public, he was not permitted in.)
In case this weren’t enough, Meadows was also in touch with at least one investigator in the Georgia secretary of state’s office, and by some accounts, he also might have even set up the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Donald Trump pressed Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes necessary to flip Georgia’s election results.
With all of this in mind, it wasn’t too surprising when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sought Meadows’ testimony before a grand jury. The Republican balked. Today, as NBC News reported, a judge told him he had to appear anyway.
A South Carolina judge ruled Wednesday that former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating possible interference in the 2020 presidential election. At a hearing Wednesday morning, Judge Edward Miller ruled that Meadows must comply with a petition seeking his testimony before the Fulton County grand jury, the clerk of court for Pickens County, S.C., told NBC News.
The judge ruled that Meadows must comply because his testimony is “material and necessary to the investigation and … the state of Georgia is assuring not to cause undue hardship to him.”
Meadows, predictably, intends to appeal. If this sounds at all familiar, this isn’t the only investigation the former White House chief of staff is trying to avoid. Meadows was also subpoenaed by the congressional Jan. 6 committee, and though he initially took steps to cooperate, the Republican reversed course, refused to answer questions, and the House ultimately voted to hold him in contempt. This matter in Georgia is the other investigation in which Meadows doesn’t want to cooperate, reinforcing suspicions that Trump’s former right-hand man has something to hide.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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