Ordered to testify

Mark Meadows ordered to testify in Fulton County probe of Trump election overturn efforts

Sidney Powell is among the others being told to appear for a late September interview.

By KYLE CHENEY

The Atlanta-area grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election is demanding testimony from Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, about his involvement in the effort.

Filings in the case show Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney overseeing the investigation, ordered Meadows to appear for a Sept. 27 interview. She’s also seeking Sept. 22 appearances from two other figures associated with Trump: attorney Sidney Powell and cyber researcher James Waldron.

Meadows was an active participant in Trump’s effort to press state officials in Georgia to help “find” enough votes to put Trump ahead of Joe Biden in the state. Meadows traveled to Georgia for an unannounced visit during recount efforts there, and he joined Trump on a phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where Trump pressed the state officials to help reverse the outcome.

“[T]he Special Purpose Grand Jury’s investigation has revealed that the Witness was involved in setting up the call,” the DA indicated in the filing.

The DA’s decision to seek Meadows’ testimony shows the investigation has reached Trump’s door. Already the grand jury has sought testimony from the attorneys and congressional allies who supported and helped devise Trump’s strategy to subvert the election. It’s one of several expansive criminal probes that have become an acute threat to Trump, including the unfolding investigation of highly classified information housed at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and the federal grand jury probe of Trump allies’ efforts to disrupt the transfer of power.

Several of those allies, including attorney Kenneth Chesebro and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), are fighting subpoenas to testify to the grand jury. An attorney for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp argued Thursday in Fulton County Superior Court to quash a subpoena for his testimony.

Trump ally Rudy Giuliani appeared last week for a closed-door interview. It’s unclear whether he asserted any privileges. He was recently informed that he has become a target of Willis’ investigation. Sixteen Republican Party leaders and activists who signed certificates falsely claiming to be presidential electors from Georgia are also targets of the probe.

Others who have been subpoenaed to appear include Trump attorneys John Eastman and Cleta Mitchell, as well as Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.).

Powell helped lead a team of outside lawyers to mount challenges to the election results in various states, and she helped drive false claims about foreign interference and vote-flipping. Waldron was an ally in that effort. Both have been figures of interest to the Jan. 6 select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.

“[Powell] possesses unique knowledge concerning relevant communications between [herself], former President Donald Trump, the Trump Campaign, and other known and unknown individuals involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 elections in Georgia and elsewhere,” Willis wrote in the filing seeking Powell’s testimony.