This news dropped around 5:30pm from what I can tell. There is of course much we don’t know at this point but credible reporting is that Mark Meadows has appeared before a Grand Jury to give testimony regarding Trump. Keep in mind there are two Grand Juries at work – one focused on the documents and one focused on January 6. According to the interview between NYT reporter Michael Schmidt and Nicole Wallace I watched on MSNBC it’s unclear which Grand Jury Meadows testified to. In fact, he might have appeared before both but Schmidt says they can’t nail that part down. Yet.
Let’s remember that Meadows had a front row seat for both J6 goings on AND for the chaotic departure from the WH including packing up those boxes. Boxes that included classified documents. Again I remind readers that if you’ve never seen one in person (I have) those big, block red letters are virtually impossible not to notice even from something of a distance. At a glance. Also, in case you don’t know not only is each page stamped with the level of classification, so is the cover folder/sheet with even BIGGER red block letters!
It’s also worth remembering that Meadows initially cooperated with the J6 Committee before he decided to try and get back in Trump’s favor. During that period of cooperation he turned over a big block of text messages. They turned out to be quite important and as the back and forth between Schmidt and Wallace clarified became a sort of roadmap the J6 Committee used with great effect. It’s worth asking why Meadows cooperated at all and my take is that he knew he’d seen and heard enough that if he wasn’t careful he’d find himself as a defendant in federal court one day.
How Trump got him to change his mind and start stonewalling we might never know. Or maybe we will. The point is that at least at one point Meadows was scared enough about going to prison that he decided to talk. More importantly what he provided locked him in enough that while he could maybe skirt trouble stiff-arming Congress (he ultimately wasn’t referred for Contempt of Congress charges) he was still on the hook. Those text messages and who knows what other paper and electronic records we don’t (yet) know about. Then there’s the testimony of others, including and especially Cassidy Hutchinson who proved quite credible when the spotlight was turned on her.
Meadows would be damned foolish to try and fudge things by the time he (apparently not that long ago) appeared for a grilling under oath in at least one Grand Jury room. Keep in mind that all along there’s another matter out there people often overlook. So much of the GOP’s “ELECTION FRAUD” claims are so lame is that usually the cases that get prosecuted are Republicans committing it! Oops. And in 2020 Meadows cast his vote (absentee) using an address of a remote, really small and run-down mobile home he never lived in. No one could ever remember even seeing him visit the place. So he registered from and voted via a bogus address. A federal felony.
It would be an easy, and more importantly quick case to make. If slapped with that, even taking a no jail time plea would still leave a conviction on his record. And THAT would matter a great deal in a much better known case or cases. Say either case being prepared against Trump. Meadows knew what he’d provided before he stopped cooperating and it was plenty. He also has a fair amount of what Ms. Hutchinson testified to so again, much of what he did and saw is locked in already.
What he DOESN’T know is who else spilled their guts and not only what they had to say but what “receipts” in the form of texts, emails and other documentation that squeezes the vise tighter on his “family jewels.” So unless he’s a total fool he told the truth to each question asked. And didn’t try to get cute like say Manafort did. He also knows that unlike Manafort Trump won’t be President again and be able to pardon him.
This is all very bad news for Trump. I can’t help but wonder if that is part of what led to Trump’s meltdown yesterday after his lawyers briefed him on the meeting at DOJ. (Which we’ve learned Smith joined) DOJ wasn’t about to lay out their case but some very broad strokes to quell any notions of dropping the case or some plea to some misdemeanor wasn’t happening. Dropping in a few name of people who’d given damning evidence including Meadows would set Trump off for sure. And might be how the NYT got on to the story of Meadows testifying in the first place.
What does it all mean? Well, if Smith has gotten to the point of someone as high up as Meadows he is much closer to the end of things than we all thought. Not just the documents, but January 6 too.
Stay tuned folks. I have a feeling more is to come and soon.
One small nit to pick – Meadows was referred to DOJ for contempt of congress. DOJ knew he had put himself in a much bigger jackpot and therefore declined to prosecute the contempt.
I’ve thought, from the beginning, if Meadows isn’t cooperating, he and his lawyer are brain-dead. Even with cooperation, he may still be looking at some jail time (or significant probation time) just based on what is in the public domain about his involvement. For all we know, Jack could have enough to prosecute TFG and Meadows, without any cooperation.
My first question: what documents did you burn that others testified you did. First, let me warn you to tell the truth. Second, go back to my warning.