Reports indicate that Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff, privately ridiculed former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims about the 2020 election. Meadows had a joking exchange with a White House lawyer about the lack of evidence to support Trump’s assertions that he won the 2020 election.
This exchange suggests that Meadows did not take these claims seriously, a sentiment echoed by many Trump aides, Republican officials, and others close to Trump, including his campaign manager, campaign lawyers, Justice Department appointees, and Department of Homeland Security appointees.
Additionally, Meadows joked about these unfounded claims of voter fraud in a text message, which was later included in a House Committee report on the January 6th attack on the Capitol. It appears that Meadows’ son also conducted an investigation that found only a handful of questionable votes.
Mark Meadows’ involvement in post-election activities, as well as his attitudes towards Trump’s election fraud claims, are under scrutiny as part of an investigation led by the special counsel’s office. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether Trump and his closest advisers, including Meadows, knew the election fraud claims were baseless, even as they encouraged state officials to reverse Biden’s win and convinced Trump’s supporters that the election was stolen. His cooperation with this investigation is being speculated.
In sum, the texts reveal a contrast between Meadows’ public actions, where he supported Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, and his private skepticism and mockery of these same claims. These revelations are part of a broader investigation into the actions and knowledge of Trump and his closest advisers following the 2020 election.