Granting immunity to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in exchange for testifying against former President Donald Trump would be a “travesty,” according to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner.
Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said during a Tuesday night appearance on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell that Special Counsel Jack Smith would be unjustly granting Meadows a “free pass for enabling” the former president if he were granted immunity. Legal experts including Kirschner have previously predicted that Meadows could legally sink Trump by cooperating with Smith.
The New York Times and other outlets reported earlier on Tuesday that Meadows did testify before a federal grand jury as part of Smith’s dual investigations of the former president, answering questions about Trump’s ill-fated attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome and issues related to his post-presidency handling of classified documents. It is unclear when Meadows testified.
Kirschner speculated that Meadows testified under one of two scenarios. Under the first scenario, Meadows would have testified as “a formal cooperating witness,” having been given an ultimatum by Smith and pleading guilty to unknown and still-sealed charges. The second scenario, which Kirschner dubbed a “travesty,” involves Meadows being granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony.
Alex Wong
“If Jack Smith decided to grant him immunity—I hate to second-guess other prosecutors, having been a federal prosecutor for 30 years—I think that would be a travesty,” said Kirschner.
“Mark Meadows would get a free pass for enabling Donald Trump on and around January 6,” he added. “Let’s hope Jack Smith went hard and made Mark Meadows take responsibility for his crimes.”
Meadows lawyer George Terwilliger did not comment on whether his client did testify but said in a statement to The New York Times that Meadows “has maintained a commitment to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so.”
Newsweek has reached out to Terwilliger and the office of Trump via email for comment.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek that Kirschner was “a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis,” while dismissing the former prosecutor as “a clout-chasing MSNBC contributor who has been shunned by the legal community at large.”
Meadows was subpoenaed as part of Smith’s probe in January, according to multiple reports. His recently reported willingness to speak to the grand jury is the latest signal that Trump could soon be facing a federal indictment.
The former president’s legal team also reportedly met with Department of Justice officials on Monday, prompting some to conclude that Smith’s investigation may be ending with charges for Trump.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, or his activities leading up to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The former president also denies any wrongdoing regarding his possession of classified documents, arguing that he “automatically” declassified the documents when leaving the White House and professing that he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
