Mark Meadows, Trump's former White House chief of staff, will face his first post-2020 election-related indictment in Georgia
- Mark Meadows has been indicted for helping to pressure Georgia to declare Trump the winner.
- Trump's final chief of staff had avoided serious legal repercussions until Monday.
Mark Meadows, a Freedom Caucus conservative who rose to become Donald Trump's final chief of staff, will face a criminal indictment in Georgia alongside former president.
Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis unveiled her sprawling indictment late Monday evening, ending Meadows' run thus far of successfully ducking some of the legal serious legal liability that others in Trump's orbit have faced stemming from their actions that took place during the waning weeks of his presidency.
It means Meadows may soon join HR Haldeman, Nixon's self-dubbed "son of a bitch," in infamy among those who held one of the most powerful posts in the federal government, Chief of Staff. Haldeman, of course, faced prison time over his role in trying to cover up the Watergate break-in.
According to the indictment, Meadows, like each one of his fellow co-defendants, is facing a violation of Georgia's RICO law. He is also facing an additional count related to his participation in Trump's January 2, 2021 call with George Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which Trump pressured Raffensperger to "find" enough votes so he could win.
Meadows' other conduct is mentioned throughout the indictment. In particular, Willis zeroed in on Meadows' efforts to reach state lawmakers in Pennsylvania. Willis later told reporters that the grand jury believed conduct outside of her jurisdiction helped furthered the conspiracy she alleged.
Meadows was not one of the unindicted co-conspirators in special counsel Jack Smith's indictment related to conduct after the election, leading to speculation that the former chief of staff could be assisting the federal investigation.
The Justice Department previously decided not to pursue contempt charges against Meadows after he stopped cooperating with the House January 6 committee. Meadows initially turned over thousands of text messages that became key exhibits in the committee's public hearings. Cassidy Hutchinson, one of Meadows' former top aides, was a key witness for the panel. She described a virtually nonchalant chief of staff as rioters ransacked the US Capitol.
A spokesperson for Meadows did not immediately respond to a request for comment.