More likely, Pat Cipollone better resembles the John Dean of this “mess”, unlike the opinion of Ty Cobb. Mark Meadows had a role that seems more messy in terms of the contacts with the Georgia Secretary of State as well as the fake electors plot. There are rocks and hard places ahead.
Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel under former President Donald J. Trump who tried to stop some of his more extreme efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating activities in the lead-up to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, a person familiar with the subpoena said.
It was unclear which grand jury had called Mr. Cipollone to testify as a witness. Two are known to be hearing evidence and testimony — one looking at the scheme by some of Mr. Trump’s lawyers and advisers to assemble slates of electors who would falsely claim that Mr. Trump was the actual winner of the election, and another focused on the events of Jan. 6.
But Mr. Cipollone is the highest-ranking White House official working for Mr. Trump during his final days in office who is known to have been called to testify by federal investigators.
He was in the West Wing as Mr. Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol and the president refused repeatedly to call them off. Mr. Cipollone also attended several meetings in the run-up to the riot in which Mr. Trump and his allies discussed how they could overturn the election and keep him in office.
[...]
Mr. Cipollone’s appearance has been requested at a time when federal prosecutors are sharpening their focus on the conduct of Mr. Trump, and not simply the people who were advising him.
In recent weeks, investigators have asked witnesses questions about Mr. Trump and his actions, including of people who worked in the White House. Two former senior advisers to Vice President Mike Pence — his chief of staff, Marc Short, and his chief counsel, Greg Jacob — recently testified before one of the grand juries, according to people familiar with their appearances.
Given the nature of Mr. Cipollone’s job, it was unclear how much information he would provide. He was subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot and the events that helped precipitate it, and sat for a transcribed, recorded interview.
But certain terms were discussed ahead of time, and Mr. Cipollone, citing attorney-client and executive privilege, declined to discuss specific conversations with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Cipollone was a witness to some of the most significant moments in Mr. Trump’s push to overturn the election results, including discussions about seizing voting machines, meddling in the Justice Department and sending false letters to state officials about election fraud.
www.nytimes.com/...
Former White House attorney Ty Cobb said Meadows is "perfectly positioned to be the John Dean of this mess," referring to the former Richard Nixon aide who offered crucial public testimony during the Watergate hearings.
"The reason [Meadows] is valuable is also the reason he is in jeopardy: He was basically at Trump's right hand throughout all these exercises and participated in key meetings and phone calls," Cobb said.
Yet, according to a source familiar with the relationship, Trump and Meadows have spoken a number of times. Another source close to Trump described their relationship as "not the same as it once was" while they served in the White House, but insisted they still maintained a relationship, even as Trump has complained about Meadows in his recent conversations with other allies.
(CNN) Former President Donald Trump's legal team is in direct communication with Justice Department officials, the first sign of talks between the two sides as the criminal probe into January 6, 2021, accelerates, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
The talks revolve around whether Trump would be able to shield conversations he had while he was president from federal investigators.
In recent weeks, investigators have moved aggressively into Trump's orbit, subpoenaing top former White House officials, focusing on efforts to overturn the 2020 election and executing searches of lawyers who sought to aid those efforts.
The Trump team's discussions are with the US attorney's office in Washington, DC, which is in charge of the investigation, and its top January 6 prosecutor Thomas Windom, the sources said. The conversations have not been previously reported.
At this stage, the conversations are focused mostly on whether any communications that witnesses from the Trump West Wing had with the former President can be kept from a federal criminal grand jury under Trump's claims of executive privilege, the people said.
The Justice Department has been anticipating a court fight with Trump over executive privilege. The issue has arisen as grand jury subpoenas have been issued to two former White House
counsel's office officials and to former Vice President Mike Pence's chief counsel and chief of staff.
Trump's legal defense team has warned him that indictments are possible, sources tell CNN.