White House chief of staff Mark Meadows forwards an email from Trump campaign attorney Cleta Mitchell to acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen about an election fraud conspiracy focused on Georgia.
The next day, Meadows sends a second email asking the Justice Department to investigate the discredited conspiracy that widespread signature issues on ballots in Fulton County could change the election results for Trump.
These are two of at least five emails in which Trump’s chief of staff tries using the DOJ to “fix” the election in the final days of December and early days of January.
Rosen also receives a list of conspiracy theories surrounding New Mexico, where the secretary of state has already confirmed the accuracy of the election results.
One conspiracy Meadows is interested in is “Italygate,” a fabricated story made popular by a former CIA employee which suggests people in Italy used military technology and satellites to switch Trump votes to Biden votes. Meadows apparently wants Rosen to set up a meeting between the former employee, Brad Johnson, and the FBI. Rosen refuses.
Mr. Meadows’s outreach to Mr. Rosen was audacious in part because it violated longstanding guidelines that essentially forbid almost all White House personnel, including the chief of staff, from contacting the Justice Department about investigations or other enforcement actions.
“The Justice Department’s enforcement mechanisms should not be used for political purpose or for the personal benefit of the president. That’s the key idea that gave rise to these policies,” said W. Neil Eggleston, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House counsel. “If the White House is involved in an investigation, there is at least a sense that there is a political angle to it.”
The New York Times
Cleta Mitchell has been working with the Council for National Policy (CNP) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to steal the election for Donald Trump since August 2019. After leaving the White House, Meadows joins the Conservative Partnership Institute — another CNP organization.
Congress obtains these and other emails in 2021.
External Sources
Photo: Unknown
