'He's at the center of everything': Jan 6 investigator discusses Mark Meadows' involvement in Trump case
Former President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has reportedly reached an agreement with the Justice Department in which he'll give a guilty plea to federal charges.
"It is understood that the former North Carolina congressman will plead guilty to several federal charges as part of a deal for which he has already received limited immunity in exchange for his testimony," reporter Andrew Feinberg wrote for The Independent.
The Independent reported Wednesday that the DOJ is ready to ask the grand jury to indict Trump on both obstruction and Espionage Act charges.
Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Wednesday afternoon about Meadows' testimony to the Trump grand jury was Timothy Heaphy, former lead investigator for the House Select Committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. He opened by explaining that he thinks his talking was related to Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election result.
"He's at the center of everything," Heaphy said. "He's at the president's right hand throughout all of the movements. All of the multipronged pieces of the plot that the select committee articulated, Mark Meadows was right there. He was right there on Jan. 6. He was right there in efforts to potentially change personnel at [the Department of] Justice.
"As you just indicated, he went to Georgia before the certification and after the election. He's involved with contacting Congress. He's such a vital player in all of this. And if he's cooperating, it's hard to say what he said in the grand jury, but if he's truthfully cooperating, it's a pretty significant step for the special counsel."
He went on to say that it's common that, in a conspiracy investigation, someone would ultimately agree to cooperate. Some suggested that was happening after Meadows' lawyer sent out an "ominous" statement.
"The special counsel is looking at concerted action to disrupt the joint session" of Congress," continued Heaphy.
"Some co-conspirators who have exposure have a strong incentive to cooperate with the government and reduce that exposure. So, I don't know if there's been some sort of deal made between Meadows through counsel and Jack Smith and his team, essentially not being charged, or charged without a specific sentencing request, in exchange for cooperation. That may be what's going on here. it may be that he's testifying in the hope that he isn't somehow implicated or indicted.
"My guess is there are extensive discussions between Meadows' counsel and the special counsel, sort of articulating the terms of his testimony, the expectations on both sides, before he would engage in testimony."
He explained that Meadows has exposure from his actions before, on and after Jan. 6, which he said "give rise to participation in a conspiracy."
As well as the attempts to overturn the election case, Smith is also investigating allegations that Trump kept classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago home.
Former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade anticipated Tuesday evening that the Jan. 6 charges could be "just as imminent" as the documents case.
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