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Report: Mark Meadows is cooperating with the special counsel [1]

['Daily Kos Staff']

Date: 2023-08-22

In news that shocks no one, The New York Times reports that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has been providing information to federal prosecutors. This includes both the investigation around Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his illegal retention of classified national security documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Speculation that Meadows was cooperating with special counsel Jack Smith’s office has been nearly constant for months. That includes a great deal of speculation that Meadows had reached some sort of accommodation with Smith in order to keep his name from appearing on any of the indictments handed up so far by federal grand juries.

All of this appears to be confirmed by the Times article, which describes Meadows as providing “targeted assistance” to keep himself out of trouble. And in news that is sure to generate the most furious response from Trump, Meadows is said to have put his trust in Smith's team rather than risk the consequences of continuing to protect his former boss.

Meadows reportedly “came to the conclusion that the top prosecutors in the special counsel’s office were engaged in a good-faith effort to collect and analyze the facts of the case” and attempted to present himself as a neutral witness. The contrast between Meadow’s “conclusion” and Trump’s repeated claims of a “witch hunt” by Smith’s team seems bound to earn Meadows some scorching condemnation from the depths of Mar-a-Lago.

However, it appears that Meadows gained this sudden confidence in Smith’s team about the same time it became clear he wasn’t going to be able to hide behind claims of executive privilege. That sort of selective faith in the system seems to be typical of Meadows

When former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified to the House select committee, she made it obvious that Meadows was involved in every aspect of Trump's schemes. In fact, Hutchinson even thought that Meadows was helping to lead Trump in the wrong direction and giving him “bad advice.”

It was obvious from Hutchinson’s testimony that Meadows would be one of if not the most important witnesses that Smith might land in his investigation into Trump. That included Hutchinson recounting a conversation with then-House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in which McCarthy blamed Meadows for helping to keep Trump from conceding defeat in spite of the facts.

Critically, Hutchinson testified that McCarthy told her Trump frequently acknowledged his electoral defeat in private but then quickly shifted gears and insisted he had to remain in the White House nonetheless. McCarthy allegedly told her he thought this attitude was being fomented by Meadows.

Hutchinson also testified that Meadows had gone as far as burning paperwork following the Jan. 6 insurrection, and that she had been contacted before her testimony by another assistant to Meadows to ensure her “loyalty.”

Meadows was known to have been a central player in planning both the false electors scheme and other elements leading up to events on Jan. 6. That included exchanging 2,319 text messages related to events on that day.

But shortly after Meadows was subpoenaed to appear before Smith’s Washington, D.C., grand jury investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Meadows abruptly went silent on social media and dropped out of most public events. When indictments were handed down for Trump’s actions around classified materials and his role in spearheading attempts to overturn the election, Meadows was conspicuously silent.

However, when Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis announced racketeering charges against Trump and 18 others earlier this month, it became clear that Meadows had not negotiated a get-out-of-indictment-free card in Georgia—though he may have negotiated something. Meadows landed in the indictment with 14 separate appearances among the acts supporting the RICO case, but ultimately scored only two charges.

Meadows quickly made an attempt to move his case to federal court as a preliminary to asking for the case against him to be dismissed. The hearing in that case is next Monday, but Meadows’ odds are not good.

Maybe Meadows can encourage his friend Mr. Smith to hold a conversation with Willis. Or maybe he’ll end up negotiating another deal all his own.

What seems to be most clear about Meadows at this point is that he may be Trump’s most apt pupil. While other former staffers from the Trump White House and Trump campaign continue to take the heat for the guy who refuses to pay their bills, Meadows has been all about protecting Meadows.

And according to the Times article, going-along-to-get-along is nothing new to Meadows.

Interviews and a review of the cases show how Mr. Meadows’s tactics reflected to some degree his tendency to avoid conflict and leave different people believing that he agreed with them.

Meadows has made a career out of telling people what they wanted to hear. Unfortunately, by telling Trump what he wanted to hear, Meadows' career took a turn for the criminal.

Now he’s trying to make a career change. Because if Trump is all about Trump, Meadows is all about Meadows. They genuinely deserve each other.

Did anything happen while we were all taking a well-deserved break? Something about Donald Trump being indicted not once, but two times! Also in the news: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign collapse. So much is happening!

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[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/22/2188880/-Mark-Meadows-has-been-providing-targeted-assistance-to-Jack-Smith

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