The MeidasTouch Podcast - Mark Meadows ORDERED and COMPELLED to Testify Before Fulton County Criminal Grand Jury

Episode Date: October 27, 2022

Mark Meadows lost his motion to block testimony before the Fulton County Special Grand Jury investigating 2020 election interference crimes. Meadows filed his motion in South Carolina state court arguing the out-of-state Georgia subpoena was invalid and that his claim of Executive Privilege with Trump should preclude his testimony. These arguments were rejected by the South Carolina state court. Ben Meiselas breaks it down on this edition of The Mighty. On The Mighty, we feature some of the most impactful responses, reactions, narratives, musings, and rants of Meidas content creators and highlight pro-democracy candidates and activists throughout the country. New episodes of the traditional MeidasTouch Podcast featuring drop every Tuesday and Friday morning. Shop Meidas Merch at: https://store.meidastouch.com Join us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/meidastouch Remember to subscribe to ALL the Meidas Media Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://pod.link/1510240831 Legal AF: https://pod.link/1580828595 The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://pod.link/1595408601 The Influence Continuum: https://pod.link/1603773245 Kremlin File: https://pod.link/1575837599 Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://pod.link/1530639447 The Weekend Show: https://pod.link/1612691018 The Tony Michaels Podcast: https://pod.link/1561049560 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are very few things that you can be certain of in life. But you can always be sure the sun will rise each morning. You can bet your bottom dollar that you'll always need air to breathe and water to drink. And, of course, you can rest assured that with Public Mobile's 5G subscription phone plans, you'll pay the same thing every month. With all of the mysteries that life has to offer, a few certainties can really go a long way. Subscribe today for the peace of mind you've been searching for. Public Mobile. Different is calling. When does fast grocery delivery through

Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit, but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that, actually, they will stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer, so download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. I'm Ben Micellis from the Midas Touch Network and this is a breaking news alert. Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff in the former criminal Trump administration, has been ordered to testify before the Fulton County Special Grand Jury investigating criminal

conduct related to MAGA extremist election interference in the 2020 election. Of course, you will recall and note that the special grand jury was impaneled at Fawny Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney's request. They've been at work for some time, although there is a quiet period taking place right now while we're right before these midterm elections. So no one's actually testifying until after the midterm elections. And this criminal special grand jury is investigating things like the fake elector scheme in Georgia, whereby 16 fake electors were sent to be counted instead of Georgia's real electors by MAGA extremists. Donald Trump's call to the Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, saying, find me the votes, which, by the way, Mark Meadows was on that call,

tampering with voting machines, which is what the MAGA extremists did after the election to try to further their insane conspiracies and other crimes and other threats and intimidation that was taking place by MAGA extremists. And so Mark Meadows tried to avoid testifying before this special grand jury. Mark Meadows currently lives in South Carolina purportedly, and I say purportedly because it seems Mark Meadows basically lived everywhere and was registered to vote everywhere. He may recall, it's like registered to vote in North Carolina and Washington and South Carolina and all of these states. But in any event, he's from South Carolina, or he purports to be from South Carolina. So when you need to subpoena somebody from out of state in a criminal proceeding, there is a uniform code that states have, and they have comity, not comedy, but comity

with other states to try to reflect the other states' uniform codes as well to compel individuals to testify in other states in criminal proceedings. And so it's a two-step process. So first, the Fulton County District Attorney, Phony Willis, had to go to the Superior Court judge who oversees that special grand jury, Robert McBurney, to make a finding that Mark Meadows would be a material witness to the criminal investigation. Judge McBurney made that finding. And then you have to file in South Carolina, which has jurisdiction over the individual, in this case, Mark Meadows is the individual or whatever state the person's from. But in this case, Mark Meadows lives in Pickens County, South Carolina. So you have to file then a petition after getting the finding in Fulton County. You then go to Pickens County and you say, look, Judge McBurney signed this off

here under the Uniform Act. We are compelling Mark Meadows to testify. You have jurisdiction over him in Pickens County. So a filing is made by the Fulton County District Attorney, by Fonny Willis, in the 13th Judicial Circuit in the Court of Common Pleas, which is the South Carolina State Court. The judge there is named Edward Miller. And you say, Judge Miller, look what we've got from Judge McBurney. Can you please compel Mark Meadows to testify? He's been determined in our state in a criminal proceeding to be a material witness.

And so we reported yesterday here on the Midas Touch Network that Mark Meadows was objecting to that and tried to block his testimony before the special grand jury. And he made a number of arguments. The first argument that he made was that the special grand jury proceeding that's taking place in Fulton County is technically not a criminal proceeding. It's a civil proceeding. He argued he's wrong about that. And therefore, the uniform act, which compels witnesses to have to testify in other states if a finding is made by a judge in one state, that only applies to criminal proceedings. And therefore, this is a civil proceeding and shouldn't apply to me.

That was rejected, and Judge McBurney in Fulton County has previously made findings and has been held that this special grand jury is a criminal proceeding. They are engaged in a criminal investigation and will make recommendations to criminally indict. Now, all the special grand jury can do is make recommendations. They don't actually issue an indictment. You then have to impanel another grand jury. But nonetheless, for purposes of this video, what you need to know, it is a criminal proceeding that is taking place in Fulton County. The other argument that Mark Meadows made is that he should be subject to, he's already made these arguments of executive privilege in federal court in Washington, D.C., and he can't be a quote-unquote material witness

if he's not allowed to testify based on his executive privilege claims that are pending before a federal judge, Judge Carl Nichols, in Washington, D.C., federal court. And so a lot going on here, but let me break down what he's arguing there. So you'll remember that the January 6th committee had subpoenaed Mark Meadows' records back in September of 2021. And Mark Meadows produced around 2,100 text messages sometime around shortly thereafter in September or October of 2021. Mark Meadows then stopped producing records, but he was set to have his deposition taken by the January 6th committee sometime around December, early December of 2021. And the day before he was going to have his deposition taken, he got cold feet. We'll use that euphemism, but he got cold feet and decided not to testify before the January 6th committee, even though he promised to. And so the January 6th committee

filed a motion for contempt against him or moved for contempt against him. They held that he was in contempt of Congress, and then they referred that out to the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, after Mark Meadows refused to testify before the January Sixth Committee in December, he then immediately filed a lawsuit with the district court, the federal court in Washington, D.C., arguing that he has blanket executive privilege over everything because he's the chief of staff and that he shouldn't have to answer any of the questions. Ultimately, the Department of Justice, unlike with Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who they criminally prosecuted, with Mark Meadows, the Department of Justice did not criminally prosecute Mark Meadows. because if you are abusing and using executive privilege like that, a criminal case could be potentially difficult in front of a jury on the criminal contempt of Congress charge where there

could be interbranch disputes. And we might not like that, but this is really the first time in our history where you've had, as I said at the outset of this video, a presidential administration that functioned as a criminal cartel, which has kind of turned our constitutional norms completely upside down. But the Department of Justice has numerous things that they could hang over and are hanging over Mark Meadows' head, where he will serve significantly more time than a misdemeanor criminal contempt of Congress charge. But in any way, Mark Meadows filed this motion with the district court to block his testimony, filed a lawsuit styled as Mark

Meadows versus Pelosi. And he was trying to claim that the January 6th committee was not properly authorized and all these ridiculous arguments and that he's claiming executive privilege there. The judge in that case has not made a ruling yet. The federal judge in that case has not made a ruling yet. So why am I talking about this federal proceeding that's going on in Washington, D.C. in a state court proceeding in South Carolina in the court of common pleas in the 13th judicial circuit. Why am I making that argument? It's a great freaking point that you asked. Discover the magic of Bad MGM Casino, where the excitement is always on deck. Pull up a seat and check out a wide variety of table games with a live dealer.

From roulette to blackjack, watch as a dealer hosts your table game and live chat with them throughout your experience to feel like you're actually at the casino. The excitement doesn't stop there. With over 3,000 games to choose from, including fan favorites like Cash Eruption, UFC Gold Blitz, and more, make deposits instantly to jump in on the fun and make same-day withdrawals if you win.

Download the BetMGM Ontario app today. You don't want to miss out. Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please gamble responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600

to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Why is Mark Meadows making that argument? He shouldn't be making that argument. I'm explaining to you the argument that Mark Meadows was trying to make, which got rejected. But also I want to remind you of all those other things that are going on with Mark Meadows.

But Mark Meadows argued to this court, to the state court, one reason he shouldn't be compelled by thatadows argued to this court, to the state court, one reason he shouldn't be compelled by that state court to have to go to Georgia in response to Judge McBurney signing off that he's a material witness is he says, I'm not a material witness because I've claimed executive privilege in federal court, which has not been ruled on yet. So until such time as there is a federal determination, I shouldn't be hauled in a state court proceeding. It's a convoluted argument and so convoluted that the judge here in the Edward Miller in the 13th Judicial District or Circuit in South Carolina said,

rejected that. And ultimately what we saw here is we've got one judge in South Carolina said, rejected that. And ultimately what we saw here is we've got one judge in South Carolina basically saying, I'm not going to challenge the finding of a colleague, if you will, another judge, Judge McBurney in Georgia. A Fulton County judge made this finding. I am not going to second guess that finding that this individual is a material witness. This is a criminal proceeding. It's a special grand jury criminal proceeding. I am ordering Mark Meadows to appear at the Georgia Fulton County special grand jury proceedings. Now, why also is Mark Meadows a material witness? Mark Meadows was on the phone call where Trump said and threatened Brad Raffensperger to find him the votes and to

literally overthrow the election. Mark Meadows traveled to Georgia. Mark Meadows was there basically trying to do and encourage fake audits. Mark Meadows was incredibly instrumental in a lot of the happenings in Georgia to try to overthrow the results of the election. On the phone calls, coordinating with people, speaking with people on the ground, trying to come up with ways to overthrow the results. And so there's just a myriad of reasons why Mark Meadows would be a material witness in Georgia and frankly, in all the other states. Mark Meadows was like the central base where all of the insurrectionists were sending the text message to and asking him questions. And we got a lot of information from the initial text messages that Meadows had turned over in September of 2021.

That's given us a lot of insight into the January 6th. So on the one hand, he did turn over those records, but stopped producing other records right before he was set to be deposed, which is odd and very suspicious and very problematic. But, you know, ultimately what do I think is going to happen now? So what's the next step? So now he's compelled to testify before the Fulton County special grand jury. And then what I think he's going to do once he goes in front of the Fulton County special grand jury. And again, they're not calling any witnesses there until after the midterms. So after the midterms, he's going to

appear. And then I think he's going to assert executive privilege over every question and basically say, look, the judge in South Carolina just said I had to testify, but didn't say that I don't have an executive privilege claim. I'm making every executive privilege argument right here. And then Fannie Willis is going to have to litigate the executive privilege claims against Mark Meadows. And then the question is, is when she prevails, because there isn't a valid, there's no valid executive privilege claim, I believe. And the January 6th committee has filed a motion in the federal court, a motion for summary judgment, which is pending, saying that there is no blanket executive privilege claims as it relates to the issue of January 6th. I don't think there's any executive privilege claims in general at this point for a former administration, but potentially between

inter-branch disputes. And arguably, if there is some legitimate executive branch functions that need to be kept confidential in the normal course, but whatever, that's not what the issue is here. The issue here is January 6th conduct of inspiring an insurrection, of trying to overthrow our government, that's not subject to executive privilege. And any potential claim of executive privilege, should it exist, which it doesn't, would have to give way to the overriding, compelling needs of the criminal investigation regarding overthrowing our democracy. It's not an absolute immunity from testimony, and it doesn't even apply here. I don't believe it applies here. The January 6th committee in their brief doesn't. Most legal

observers don't believe it applies. So then is he going to take the fifth like all these MAGA extremists do when they plead the fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth, perhaps? Or is he going to testify? But what I really like here, Foney Willis being aggressive, Foney Willis being determined, making sure she's going into all these courts and finding these people wherever they're hiding, going to South Carolina, not allowing these people to bully the investigation in any way, sticking to it and getting the testimony to be taken. And so we will keep you updated when it's scheduled for. Expect it to take place sometime in November after the midterm elections are over.

And we will certainly be here to keep you posted with detailed legal breakdowns. Hit the subscribe button right now. In addition, please subscribe to patreon.com slash MidasTouch, P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com slash MidasTouch. I always get asked by you, how can you help grow this independent media platform? That is a big way you can help by going to patreon.com slash MidasTouch. Join one of those exclusive membership tiers with exclusive content, but most importantly, you can help grow this platform. We appreciate you. I'm Ben Mycelis from the Midas Touch Network. Until next time. Midas Touch is unapologetically pro-democracy. And look, we know you are too. So please,

make sure you check out our best-selling shirt and our best-selling gear, the unapologetically pro-democracy gear. And hey, while you're at it, make sure you check out my favorite shirt and one of our most famous designs. It wasn't rigged. You're just a loser at store.midastouch.com. That's store.midastouch.com.