Meadows told special counsel he could not recall Trump ever declassifying Mar-a-Lago docs: Sources
Appearing to contradict former President Donald Trump's primary public defense in the classified documents case, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has told special counsel Jack Smith's investigators that he could not recall Trump ever ordering, or even discussing, declassifying broad sets of classified materials before leaving the White House, nor was he aware of any "standing order" from Trump authorizing the automatic declassification of materials taken out of the Oval Office, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Ever since the FBI's seizure of more than 100 classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate last August, Trump has insisted that he declassified all the materials before he left office. The former president now faces 40 separate criminal charges related to his possession of those documents, ranging from unlawful retention of national defense information to various obstruction-related offenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied any wrongdoing
ABC News has also reviewed an early draft of the prologue to Meadows' book, "The Chief's Chief," about his time serving as Trump's chief of staff for the final months of the Trump White House, which includes a description of Trump having a classified war plan "on the couch" at his office in Bedminster, New Jersey, at a meeting attended by Meadows' ghostwriter and publicist, but not by Meadows himself. The reference to that document being in Trump's possession was removed before the book was published.
Multiple sources tell ABC News Meadows acknowledged to investigators that he asked that the paragraph be changed, and that it would be "problematic" had Trump had such a document in his possession. Sources tell ABC News that Meadows told special counsel investigators that he did not discuss making those edits with Trump.
Meadows also told investigators that he was not involved in packing the boxes that Trump took to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, sources told ABC News, largely distancing himself from the removal of government documents, including classified materials. The sources said Meadows told investigators he did not witness Trump himself packing boxes and was unaware that Trump had taken any government records, including classified documents.
The former chief of staff also told investigators that shortly after the National Archives first requested the return of the official documents taken to Mar-a-Lago in 2021, he offered to Trump that he would go through the former president's boxes to retrieve the official records and send them back to Washington. Meadows told investigators Trump did not accept his offer, according to sources.
Following the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, Trump's team issued a statement to one media outlet claiming that, while still in office, Trump had issued "a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them." On social media, Trump himself insisted that the documents at Mar-a-Lago were "all declassified."
According to sources familiar with the matter, Meadows told investigators that he had heard the term "standing order" used during his time in the White House, but not in relation to the declassification process.
While Trump's attorneys have not formally put forward such a defense in court, if they were to seek to make such a claim at trial then prosecutors could see substantial value in putting forward Meadows as a witness to counter such claims.
A spokesperson for the special counsel's office declined to comment when reached by ABC News. Meadows' lawyer, George Terwilliger, declined to comment for this story when reached by ABC News.
In a statement to ABC News, a Trump spokesperson, without evidence, accused the Justice Department of "selectively leaking incomplete information" to impact the 2024 election.
The statement claimed the DOJ and the special counsel "have resorted to selectively leaking incomplete information that lacks proper context because they know they can't win inside a courtroom, so now they are trying to deceive Americans through the court of public opinion," adding that "This witch-hunt is nothing more than a desperate attempt to interfere in the 2024 election as President Trump dominates the polls and is the only person who will take back the White House."
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/meadows-told-special-counsel-could-124511661.html