Mark Meadows subpoenaed by special counsel over Jan 6 Capitol riots, report says

Jack Smith is seeking documents and testimony from former White House chief of staff

Mark Meadows has reportedly been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump for his role in the Jan 6 Capitol riots.

The former White House chief of staff received the subpoena in January this year, reported CNN, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The reported move comes as special counsel Jack Smith steps up his investigation into the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election following his loss.

Mr Smith’s office is seeking documents and testimony in connection to the Jan 6 insurrection when hundreds of Trump supporters descended on Capitol grounds and rioted to stop Joe Biden’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

Mr Meadows was Mr Trump’s final White House chief of staff and could become one of his closest advisers to be questioned in the special counsel’s investigation.

Mr Smith was appointed last November by attorney general Merrick Garland to take over two investigations around Mr Trump.

The first investigation involves Mr Trump’s handling of sensitive classified documents which were found at his Florida resort during a raid.

The second one is probing Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election’s results, including an alleged plot to submit fake slates of electors to block Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

The subpoena to Mr Meadows predated a separate subpoena given to former vice president Mike Pence last week.

The former White House chief of staff previously fought a subpoena from a special grand jury in Georgia, citing executive privilege. He was later ordered to testify after finding him “material and necessary to the investigation”.

During the Jan 6 House Select committee hearings, Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to Mr Meadows, testified that he told her things might get “real, real bad” on 6 January 2021, when the riots occurred.

He was also involved in the infamous leaked phone conversation between Mr Trump and Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger in January 2021 during which the former president urged Mr Raffensperger to “find” him enough votes to win the state.