This is all falling apart for Mark Meadows and Donald Trump
Hoo-boy! The 38-page ‘PowerPoint for Demented Dummies’ has certainly kicked over the camp latrine, hasn’t it? The ramifications of that stupendous reveal will ripple on for years. The January 6th Select Committee must feel pretty big in the britches about now. One could almost imagine seeing smirks on the faces of several Committee members. Self-satisfaction was certainly playing around the eyes of Ranking Member, Liz Cheney. Or was that me projecting?
One must wonder openly about what the hell Mark Meadows thinks he’s doing turning over truly block-buster documentation to the Select Committee and then – THEN – refusing to testify under the bogus and nonsensical claim of executive privilege! Asha Rangappa, lawyer, former FBI agent, senior lecturer at Yale University, saw Meadows’ predicament as being ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’; a rock and a hard place.
Apparently, an existential dilemma of this sort is the key to remaining in the MAGA camp. Does Meadows somehow think that this is ‘taking one for the team’ or ‘falling on his sword’ while saving his own back-side? Ms. Rangappa also opined that Meadows may be hoping that the lesser jail time for failing to honor a subpoena would forestall his being tried for more serious crimes. This woe-begotten tactic should favorably influence no one.
CNN’s Elie Honig referred to Meadows’ actions as leaping half-way across a ditch; he’s neither in nor out. Neither a cooperating witness nor a hostile one. So, how does Meadows plopping down in the middle a muddy ditch serve himself or the former Guy? Time will tell but the smart money is on it failing miserably.
Or perhaps this is Meadows’ version of the grand gesture of throwing oneself on the hand grenade (to invoke the testimony of Gordon D. Sondland at the hearings on Trump’s demonic finagling with Ukraine.)
What is certain is that several Fox News entertainers have gotten caught with their feet wedged firmly their lying mouths. Ingraham, Hannity and that little weasel from the Fox & Fiends sofa all texted Meadows urging Trump to act presidential on that day while quieting their tele-sheeple with a gas-lighting fairy tale denying the dire reality of that day.
Little Donnie Jr even got into the act – to his dubious credit – begging Meadows to talk to Junior’s Orange Daddy. Evidently, Jr. couldn’t call his own father, even given the drama and pompous circumstances of the day. Lawrence O’Donnell attributed that to caller I.D. Mary Trump said it was more that Jr. didn’t want to bring Big Daddy bad news.
As a bonus, the public has learned of the existence of conspiracy theorist and PowerPoint maker, Philip Waldron, a retired U.S. Army colonel. One would imagine Chairperson Bennie Thompson has already drawn up a subpoena for that person of note. Question: Were any of the leaders of the National Guard of a similar mind to Col. Waldron (rt.) on that day?