Mark Meadows thwarts Trump’s narrative of ‘declassifying’ documents
In direct contradiction to Donald Trump’s main tale in the Mar-a-Lago case – in which he claims to have lawfully been in possession of sensitive government materials because he himself declassified them – former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told the Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigators believe he can’t recall a case where this ever happened.
Accordingly abc newswhich received information from sources close to the matter, “[Meadows] He had no recollection of Trump ever ordering or even discussing the release of extensive confidential materials prior to leaving the White House, nor was he aware that there was any “standing order” from Trump requiring automatic release of materials taken from the Oval Office.
In the media’s coverage of Trump’s main defense being shot down in this case, they also mention a first look at an early draft of the prologue to Meadows’ book The Chief’s Chief, which mentions that Trump was only casually flaunted a secret war plan in his bedminster, New Jersey, during a meeting attended by Meadows’ ghostwriter and publicist. The reference to this document was later removed.
