Mark Meadows has flipped- or has he?: A report by ABC News Tuesday said that the former Donald Trump White House chief of staff has been granted immunity by the special counsel’s office. But there has been some pushback on the story.
What Will Donald Trump Do Now?
On Tuesday, which was the day a third former Trump attorney, Jenna Ellis, agreed to cooperate against the former president, and another of his former lawyers, Michael Cohen, testified against him in court in New York, there was more bad news about a former confidant testifying against the former president.
According to a report by ABC News Tuesday afternoon, Trump’s final White House chief of staff has been granted immunity by Special Counsel Jack Smith and has met with Smith’s office multiple times, in addition to grand jury testimony.
Meadows is not under indictment in the federal election interference case in Washington, but he was included in the RICO indictment in Florida.
Per those sources, “Meadows informed Smith’s team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump’s prolific rhetoric regarding the election.”
Meadows also, per ABC’s sources, told prosecutors that Trump was being “dishonest” in his arguments that the 2020 election was stolen and that Meadows had stated, “Obviously we didn’t win.” The ABC piece also states that Meadows knew the claims of fraud were baseless, despite arguing the opposite in his own autobiography.
However, there has been some pushback against the report, including by Meadows himself. Per CBS News, Meadows, through his attorney, has denied at least some of the story that he met with Smith’s teams three times, and that he was granted immunity.
“I told ABC that their story was largely inaccurate. People will have to judge for themselves the decision to run it anyway.” George Terwilliger, who represents Meadows, told CBS.
The use of the phrase “largely inaccurate” indicates that Meadows’ camp sees at least some of the story as accurate.
Trump himself weighed in about the report.
“I don’t think Mark Meadows would lie about the Rigged and Stollen 2020 Presidential Election merely for getting IMMUNITY against Prosecution (PERSECUTION!) by Deranged Prosecutor, Jack Smith,” Trump said on Truth Social.
He then added a comically long run-on sentence.”
“BUT, when you really think about it, after being hounded like a dog for three years, told you’ll be going to jail for the rest of your life, your money and your family will be forever gone, and we’re not at all interested in exposing those that did the RIGGING — If you say BAD THINGS about that terrible “MONSTER,” DONALD J. TRUMP, we won’t put you in prison, you can keep your family and your wealth, and, perhaps, if you can make up some really horrible “STUFF” a out him, we may very well erect a statue of you in the middle of our decaying and now very violent Capital, Washington, D.C. Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
A Rolling Stone story on Tuesday also reported that Trump is preparing for an “avalanche” of additional cooperators in his legal cases.
“For months, Trump, his lawyers, and advisers have been preparing for a potential onslaught of co-defendants flipping on him ahead of trial in the Georgia case. In the last week alone, three prominent co-defendants — Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and Sidney Powell — have all struck plea deals with the district attorney, and the former president and his team are expecting more to come,” the magazine said.
It added that Trump has spent “months” being obsessed over who might flip and has sent staffers out on “fact-finding” missions to determine whose betrayal is most likely.
Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
From the Vault
