Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s final White House chief of staff, testified in a federal courtroom in Georgia on Monday that he helped question the 2020 presidential election results out of a federal interest in “free and fair elections” intended to build national trust in the outcome and bring on a peaceful transfer of power.
Over nearly four hours of testimony, Meadows defended his participation in meetings and phone calls described by prosecutors as part of a plot to subvert Joe Biden’s victory, repeatedly insisting there was a “federal nexus” to all of his actions. He said his duties managing the president’s calendar and extricating him from lengthy meetings necessitated participating in hundreds if not thousands of conversations each month.
“Having open questions [about the election] continued to be a roadblock for initiating other plans,” Meadows testified. He added: “I just needed to land the plane.”
Meadows, who along with Trump and 17 others was indicted in Atlanta this month, is seeking to move his case from state to federal court, claiming that he was acting as a federal officer. U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones said the case will probably set precedent and that he will issue a decision “as soon as possible.”