Mark Meadows, Trump-era chief of staff, has been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith as part of an investigation into the January 6 insurrection.
According to reporting by CNN, Smith was subpoenaed sometime in January, followed by Smith subpoenaing former Vice President Mike Pence earlier this month.
Smith is also leading a probe into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and has not forged the best impression with those in Trump’s orbit.
On Wednesday (January 15), Pence told reporters after an event he held in Iowa that he would be fighting the subpoena, expressing he would be prepared to take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Describing the subpoena as the “Biden DOJ’s subpoena,” Pence vowed to “fight” the writ to appear before a grand jury because of his belief the subpoena is “unconstitutional, and it’s unprecedented.”
Meadows hasn’t commented on his subpoena, though the DOJ seeking his testimony is unsurprising.
On January 6, 2021, the day of the insurrection, very few officials were as close to Trump and his decision-making process as Meadows.
As Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Meadows was by Trump’s side in the Oval Office.
Meadows has also remained tight-lipped about what he saw and heard on the day, using executive privilege to escape subpoenas from the former House Select Committee investigating January 6.
He is likely to use executive privilege to avoid testifying before the Department of Justice in this instance.
The DOJ has not commented on the Meadows subpoena.
