Besides the other issues with messages and other materials that have been obtained from ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows amid the Thompson-led House committee’s investigation into the Capitol riot, a striking news item has emerged: while on the job, Meadows apparently used personal email accounts to conduct official government business, meaning that he did the exact thing that so many Republicans spent so long upset with Hillary Clinton over. Clinton herself reacted to the news, pointing out the stark differences between the content of their email messages.
Just imagine the text messages Mark Meadows has in his phone that he DIDN’T voluntarily release.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) December 17, 2021
A social media post from MSNBC observed that “[if] Hillary Clinton’s email protocols were a major national story for over a year, Mark Meadows’ use of private email accounts matters, too,” and as Clinton pointedly put it in response:
‘Especially since his emails were about plotting a coup d’etat, while ours were about gefilte fish.’
Especially since his emails were about plotting a coup d'etat, while ours were about gefilte fish. https://t.co/XLYENxoCbn
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 16, 2021
It’s true, of course — the reason that Meadows’s communications are under scrutiny is his involvement in attempts to get Joe Biden’s legitimate presidential election victory overturned. Before his recent decision to cease cooperating with the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, Meadows turned over significant quantities of records, including from his emails. That which the riot investigation committee has obtained includes a message “discussing the appointment of alternate slates of electors,” another message about a PowerPoint presentation regarding so-called “Options for 6 JAN” (when Congress was scheduled to formally certify the presidential election outcome), and yet another message from the day before violence ended up engulfing the Capitol about having members of the National Guard “on standby.”
The @January6thCmte document on Meadows is filed with chilling details. These three bullets alone: pic.twitter.com/EHOJp3V6of
— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) December 13, 2021
That’s all in the description of a letter from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chair of the investigative committee, to a lawyer for Meadows. The House voted to refer Meadows to the Justice Department for prosecution on contempt of Congress after he refused to abide by a subpoena from the riot investigation panel. It’s not immediately clear whether Justice Department officials will opt to bring charges — they have the final decision of whether or not to do so, although it’s certainly worth remembering how the Justice Department did decide to bring charges against top Trump ally Steve Bannon after he was referred by the House for prosecution over the same issue.
A text to Mark Meadows on November 4, 2020, suggesting some states ignore voters and pick different electors came from Rick Perry, investigators believe https://t.co/3jxzGKgPvx
— CNN (@CNN) December 17, 2021
