Former President Trump suggested his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, would be a “weakling and a coward” to take an immunity deal with federal prosecutors after he reportedly reached such a deal with special counsel Jack Smith.
Trump, in a pair of Truth Social posts late Tuesday, reacted to an ABC News report that Meadows testified before a grand jury empaneled to hear evidence in the case over Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election, doing so after being granted immunity.
“I don’t think Mark Meadows would lie about the Rigged and Stollen 2020 Presidential Election merely for getting IMMUNITY against Prosecution (PERSECUTION!) by Deranged Prosecutor, Jack Smith,” Trump wrote.
“BUT, when you really think about it, after being hounded like a dog for three years, told you’ll be going to jail for the rest of your life, your money and your family will be forever gone, and we’re not at all interested in exposing those that did the RIGGING…Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation,” Trump continued. “I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows?”
Trump also claimed Meadows never told him that the 2020 election was not rigged or fraudulent, pushing back on a key part of the ABC News report.
Meadows reportedly told the grand jury that after Trump’s election loss, he repeatedly told the then-president that his claims of widespread fraud were baseless. Meadows also told investigators that Trump was being “dishonest” with voters when he proclaimed victory on election night, according to ABC.
That testimony would counter a claim Trump has repeated since losing the election — and that his lawyers defended as recently as Monday night.
Meadows served as Trump’s chief of staff for the final year of his White House term, and he was a central figure in allowing Trump to meet with attorneys pushing false claims about the 2020 election being stolen, according to former White House officials. Meadows has largely remained out of the public eye since the end of Trump’s term.
Reports that Meadows testified as part of an immunity deal came as multiple Trump allies agreed to plea deals in Georgia, where Trump is also facing charges for his efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro have each taken deals in recent days, raising the specter that they may increase Trump’s legal jeopardy.