Mark Meadows denied one crucial aspect of his Georgia indictment Monday during a hearing on removing his case to federal court, according to ABC News.
Meadows took the stand to defend his conduct, stating that it was his role to be in almost every meeting with Trump and that he didn’t “know that I did anything that was outside of my role as chief of staff,” ABC News reported. He also revealed his “biggest surprise” in the indictment: a description of him directing an aide to draft a memo on “disrupting and delaying” the January 6 Joint Session of Congress that he said “didn’t happen,” according to CNN.
The indictment states on page 24 that Trump and Meadows met with John McEntee in December 2020 and requested he “prepare a memorandum outlining a strategy for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021, the day prescribed by law for counting votes cast by the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from Georgia and the other states.”
“Me asking Johnny McEntee for this kind of a memo didn’t happen,” Meadows said, noting he had “zero recollection” of the event, according to CNN. (RELATED: Trump’s Arraignment Date Set In Georgia Election Case)
Trump’s arraignment date has been set in Georgiahttps://t.co/Pn67h663oK
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 28, 2023
Meadows defended other actions described in the indictment, such as setting up the call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, where Trump told him to “find” enough votes for him to surpass Joe Biden and observing a signature match audit in Cobb County, according to the reports.
“I believe I acted like a gentleman,” Meadows said in reference to watching the audit, per ABC News.
Monday’s hearing has been described as a preview of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case against Trump and his 18 co-defendants going forward. Willis subpoenaed Raffensperger and the former chief investigator for his office, Frances Watson, on Thursday to testify during the hearing.
The outcome of Meadow’s hearing and the reception his arguments find could impact all of the defendants, as multiple have already filed the same motion to remove their case to federal court, which Trump is anticipated to follow.
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