Marc Short, the former chief of staff and current adviser to former VP Mike Pence, poked massive holes in the defense of Mark Meadows.
Short said on CNN, “I think it’s true that Mark was acting at the behest of the president, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt. One challenge for him is to say this was all his official capacity. If that was true, why was he circumventing all of the White House Counsel’s advice? Why weren’t Pat Cipollone and the DOJ involved? Instead, Mark recruited outside lawyers who he wanted to listen to. I think that undercuts the notion that this is all part of my federal responsibility if I’m not getting counsel from the people hired in your office to serve the White House in that role.”
Video:
Marc Short pokes holes in Mark Meadows’s defense that he was acting in his official capacity, “If that was true, why was he circumventing all of the White House Counsel’s advice? Why weren’t Pat Cipollone and the DOJ involved?” pic.twitter.com/AtGt5oX1i4
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 28, 2023
There is no such thing as an I was just following orders to help the president commit a crime defense. The details of what Meadows was engaged in and who he was working with harm his claim that he was acting as the White House Chief of Staff. The fact that Meadows and Trump tried to keep the White House Counsel in the dark indicates that they knew what they were doing was wrong. People who are acting legally don’t have to keep their actions secret from the White House Counsel.
Mark Meadows may have a chance to get his case moved to federal court, but as facts are revealed, his odds of a successful move decrease.