- Some of Trump's team have started referring to Mark Meadows with the rat emoji in private.
- They are concerned that Meadows might be cooperating with special counsel Jack Smith.
People close to former President Donald Trump have been using the rat emoji to refer to his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, amid fears he might be helping prosecutors, a report says.
Some Trump aides and allies have been using the emoji in private communications as they fear Meadows might be cooperating with special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing investigations into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents, a person with knowledge of the matter told Rolling Stone.
Trump's team has been left in the dark over whether Meadows has been cooperating with authorities — and what information he may or may not have given them, Rolling Stone reported.
The former president reportedly sent some of his lawyers and political advisers on a "small fact-finding mission" to answer the question: "What is Mark doing?" They returned empty-handed, said the Rolling Stone report.
Meadows and his lawyer stopped communicating with most of Trump's circle months ago, the outlet reported, adding that this had further aggravated Tump's team.
The New York Times, citing two people briefed on the matter, reported earlier this month that Meadows had testified before a grand jury, but few details have been revealed about his testimony.
George Terwilliger, a lawyer for Meadows, gave only a vague response when asked about his client, saying: "Without commenting on whether or not Mr. Meadows has testified before the grand jury or in any other proceeding, Mr. Meadows has maintained a commitment, to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so."
While some of Trump's team have sought to console the former president, urging him not to overanalyze Meadows' silence, others have made their feelings clear by using the rat emoji when referring to Meadows in private conversations, a source told Rolling Stone, which viewed a screenshot.
Meadows served as Trump's White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021. Meadows had been close with Trump, but the relationship soured after his advisors and legal team suspected Trump's team was going to set him up as a "fall guy" as the Capitol riot investigations continued, per Rolling Stone.