Democrats and anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., used Donald Trump Jr.'s text message to smear former President Donald Trump and Mark Meadows, but all she did was make their case that they had no desire for protesters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Newsmax.
"They've been making the argument that this was a preplanned idea that we had, and not only have I said publicly that no one in the West Wing had any advanced knowledge that any breach of security at the Capitol was going to happen – and certainly this message from Don Jr. says the same thing," Meadows told host Jenn Pellegrino on Tuesday.
"We were all shocked and horrified by what happened. We were surprised by what happened. And candidly, you know, when you look at the people that are there, they need to be held accountable. But yet at the same time, it was not a plan by Donald Trump or anybody in his administration."
The Jan. 6 Select Committee's narrative Republicans sought an "insurrection" is shot down by Cheney's own evidence, Meadows added.
"It's how the left wants to portray it, as if somehow conservatives condone that," he said. "But here's what we don't condone. We don't condone a congressional committee using really someone who is honoring the executive privilege of the president that I had the honor of serving – and then going out and trying to use the very same information that was nonprivileged to spin a story that would suggest that Donald Trump has something to hide, or that Mark Meadows has something to hide.
"Neither of us have anything to hide. That's why we participated, but obviously they're not about a real investigation. They're about advancing a political narrative."
Cheney used a text exchange between Meadows and Trump Jr. on Jan. 6 – handed over to the Jan. 6 Select Committee under its subpoena – to achieve a vote to recommend a House resolution to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress.
Cheney ostensibly argued Meadows defied Congress' subpoena power, Meadows noting the irony, with texts she was given through Meadows' willful cooperation.
Then she used them for "personal political gain," Meadows told Pellegrino.
"This is not about me," Meadows continued. "It's about our country, and it's about a Jan. 6 commission that has used the power of Congress in a way that it should scare every American – when you can go out and throw out subpoenas and try to go into private messages and then use them for personal political gain. It's a sad day."
It is not only an attack on Meadows and Trump, but also his supporters and patriotic Americans, Meadows concluded.
"This is designed to silence not just Mark Meadows, but every Trump supporter – every person that is out there willing to say that they love their country, they love their flag, they love their Constitution," Meadows said.
"This is what they're trying to do. We're not going to allow that to happen."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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