Alexander Drago/Reuters
Mark Meadows told investigators in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office that he did not recall any order from Donald Trump to declassify hordes of documents that ended up at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home—and led to a litany of indictments, according to a new report.
Meadows also said he did not remember any “standing order” to declassify items as they left the White House, defusing one of Trump’s top public defenses against the claims. The disclosure of Meadows’ comments to federal investigators marks perhaps the first hint of his cooperation with the investigation.
The report, published by ABC News on Sunday, also shines another spotlight on one of the most egregious episodes in Trump’s classified documents indictment. ABC News reviewed an early draft of a prologue in Meadows’ book The Chief’s Chief, which references a classified war plan on display during a meeting with Meadows’ ghostwriter and publicist. Meadows acknowledged to investigators that he had the anecdote removed due to its “problematic” nature, but he denied Trump ordered its omission, according to ABC News.