Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
For years now, Mark Meadows has avoided answering questions about his involvement in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election—which is why his decision to suddenly testify in Atlanta federal court on Monday was such a surprise.
Trump’s one-time right-hand man is trying to wrestle the Fulton County District Attorney’s case out of relatively liberal local courts and place the case before a federal judge. But the way he did it raised serious questions—both for himself and for Trump.
So far, Meadows’ MAGA loyalty has paid off. He successfully ignored the House Jan. 6 Committee’s congressional subpoena without getting prosecuted by the feds. And his name is nowhere to be found in the recent D.C. indictment from the Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith.