White House chief of staff Mark Meadows makes a surprise appearance at the Cobb County Civic Center in Georgia to inquire about an ongoing audit of absentee ballot signatures.
Meadows and Secret Service agents meet with Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs in a hallway; they aren’t allowed in the room where investigators are comparing signatures.
“Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made a visit here in Cobb County. He wanted to know the process of the signature match audit we’re currently conducting,” Fuchs said after their meeting. “He just asked basic process questions, wanted to know what exactly we were verifying.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Meadows doesn’t speak to the press about the reason for his visit. Local officials later refer to his visit as a stunt, with one saying the trip “smelled of desperation.”
In the days that follow, investigators find no evidence of widespread fraud or forged signatures. Meadows asks the Justice Department to launch its own investigation.
External Sources
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Archived)
Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images