Mark Meadows, Trump’s final chief of staff – and likely the most loyal, will, at the very least, be a crucial fact witness in any case that might be brought against Trump arising from wrongfully withholding files that belong to the American government. Additionally, depending on what Meadows really knew about the contents of the boxes, Meadows could face obstruction of justice charges. The New York Times says that Meadows vouched for what was in the files, only newspaper clippings, and personal stuff.
The National Archives has told the Justice Department that another lawyer representing Mr. Trump indicated to the archives last September that boxes Mr. Trump had taken from the White House included only nonclassified material like newspaper clippings, according to a person briefed on the matter.,,
…Mr. Philbin indicated to Mr. Stern that the information was based on what Mr. Trump’s final White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, believed to be the contents in the boxes, the people said. Mr. Stern preserved his own description of the exchange in an email, one of the people said.
The conversation between Mr. Cannon and Mr. Trump raises new questions about Mr. Trump’s attempt to interfere with the efforts by the archives to regain all the documents. And the conversation appears to fit a pattern: In June, after turning over a small batch of classified documents that remained at Mar-a-Lago following the return of the 15 boxes, another one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers attested in writing to the Justice Department that Mr. Trump had returned all of the presidential records the government was seeking.
As is readily seen, there are no publicly available facts that indicate whether Meadows really knew what the boxes contained and was running interference for Trump, or is just caught up in the mess and will have to testify at some point, should DOJ bring charges against Trump. If the investigation were to uncover the fact that Meadows knew exactly what Trump was trying to take from the White House and he was covering for Trump, Meadows would be in a position where he has to either face charges for obstruction of justice or another relevant crime, which might put Meadows in a position where he has to make a deal and testify.
If Meadows is in a position where he had to make a deal, you can bet that DOJ will want the broadest deal it can get and make Meadows discuss what he knows about January 6th. It would be an avalanche. Trump would find himself in a very precarious position, more so than he is already.
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.