Last year, Meadows turned over thousands of text messages and emails to the House committee before he stopped cooperating. The texts he delivered between Election Day 2020 and Joe Biden’s inauguration, previously obtained by CNN, provided a window into his dealings in the White House, though he withheld hundreds of messages, citing executive privilege. In addition to Trump’s former chief of staff, one of Meadows’ top White House deputies, Ben Williamson, was also recently subpoenaed, another source familiar with the matter told CNN. That subpoena was similar to those received by others in Trump’s orbit. It requested depositions and records related to Jan. 6 and efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Williamson previously worked with the Jan. 6 committee. He declined to comment to CNN. Meadows’ compliance with the subpoena comes as the Justice Department has ramped up its investigation into the Jan. 6 incident, which now touches on nearly every aspect of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss — including fraudulent voter conspiracy, efforts to push baseless claims of voter fraud and how money was siphoned off to support these various efforts, CNN reported this week. An attorney for Meadows declined to comment. The Justice Department did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment. Federal investigators have issued at least 30 subpoenas to people with ties to Trump, including top officials from his fundraising and past campaign. As White House chief of staff, Meadows was in the middle of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in the two months between Election Day and Biden’s inauguration. Meadows contacted multiple officials who tried to find election fraud and pushed various plans to try to overturn the election, according to text messages obtained by CNN that Meadows turned over to the House Select Committee. Meadows also shared baseless conspiracy theories with DOJ leaders as Trump sought to enlist the DOJ’s help in his push to claim the election was stolen from him. After Meadows stopped cooperating with the House committee, Congress referred him to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. The DOJ declined to prosecute him for contempt earlier this year. It is not yet clear whether the Justice Department will seek more materials from Meadows as part of the ongoing criminal investigation, which could lead to a legal battle over executive privilege. Following the FBI’s search last month of Trump’s Florida residence and resort, Meadows turned over texts and emails to the National Archives that he had not previously turned over from his time in government, CNN previously reported. Last year, Meadows spoke with Trump about documents he brought to Mar-a-Lago that the National Archives wanted returned. Trump has been advised to cut off contact with Meadows, and some of Trump’s lawyers believe Meadows could also be targeted by investigators and worry he could become a witness if pressed to cooperate, CNN reported last year. month. However, Trump and Meadows have spoken several times, according to a source familiar with their relationship. Another source described their relationship as “not the same as it once was” while in the White House, but said they are still in a relationship, even though Trump has complained about Meadows to others.
