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Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows cleared of voter fraud charges in North Carolina

Bryan Metzger   

Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows cleared of voter fraud charges in North Carolina
PoliticsPolitics2 min read
  • The North Carolina Department of Justice announced it would not charge Meadows or his wife with voter fraud.
  • Attorney General Josh Stein said the two qualified for a public service-related "residency exemption."

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and his wife Debra will not face charges for voter fraud in North Carolina, the state's Department of Justice announced on Friday.

"After a thorough review, my office has concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges against either of them in this matter," said state Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat who was first elected in 2016.

Meadows, who was a congressman from North Carolina before becoming former President Donald Trump's chief of staff in 2020, was removed from the state's voter rolls in April of this year after Stein launched an investigation.

That followed reports that Meadows was registered to vote in 2020 from a mobile home where he did not live in Scaly Mountain.

Stein said that prosecutors had reviewed the evidence, including the January 6 committee's final report, and ultimately recommended against pursuing a case. The report noted that Meadows and his wife declined to be interviewed by the State Bureau of Investigation.

The report also said that phone records indicated that Debra Meadows was present in the vicinity of the Scaly Mountain residence shortly before Election Day in 2020 and said it was unclear whether the two had "knowingly swore to false information on their voter forms."

But most significantly, prosecutors pointed to a provision in North Carolina state law that allows public servants to maintain their residency in the state while serving as a public servant.

"Public service is one of the most noble professions," read the report. "To initiate a prosecution against someone who qualifies for this exception could chill other citizens from choosing to serve."

But while Stein declined to prosecute Meadows, his statement included a lengthy condemnation of the former Trump chief of staff for making unfounded allegations of voter fraud and his involvement in the events of January 6, 2021.

"Mr. Meadows has made numerous unfounded, damaging allegations about voter fraud both before and after the 2020 election," said Stein. "In addition, in its referral to the United States Department of Justice, the bipartisan January 6th congressional committee named Mr. Meadows as a likely co-conspirator over his central role in the January 6th insurrection."

"This attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power represents one of the most significant assaults on our democracy in the 246-year history of our nation," he continued. "The appropriate authorities will now fully vet these referrals. I urge federal prosecutors to hold accountable every single person who engaged in a conspiracy to put our democracy at risk."

The House of Representatives voted in 2021 to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the January 6 committee. The US Department of Justice declined to charge him, but Meadows has reportedly complied with a subpoena from the department in relation to its own investigation into January 6.

Meadows declined to comment through his spokesman Ben Williamson.


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