Mark Meadows tests positive 无毛视频� for stupid
Mark Meadows was Donald Trump无毛视频檚 fourth chief of staff.
His job?
While Trump ran his mouth, Meadows ran the White House.
He now has the unenviable task of running through a legal minefield, while trying to avoid getting out of the good graces of his former boss.
So far, he无毛视频檚 losing on both fronts.
His problems began back on Nov. 30, when he agreed to go before that congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The very next day, excerpts from Meadows无毛视频� upcoming book (无毛视频淭he Chief无毛视频檚 Chief无毛视频�) revealed that Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 (without acknowledging it), just before his first debate with Joe Biden on Sept. 20, 2020.
Trump heard about the excerpts, and he did what he always does when he isn无毛视频檛 made the star of a news development 无毛视频� he called it 无毛视频渇ake news.无毛视频�
Meadows, sensing he was about to be excommunicated from Team Trump, made a beeline to that right-wing station 无毛视频� Newsmax 无毛视频� and he reassessed his book, by also calling it 无毛视频渇ake news.无毛视频�
(Imagine that. He gave his own book a bad review, even before it hit bookshelves.)
Then, Meadows decided he didn无毛视频檛 need any parts of that congressional committee.
He announced he wouldn无毛视频檛 answer any of its questions.
He filed suit against the Jan. 6. committee and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He has some gall, doesn无毛视频檛 he?
Lots of gall, but little judgment.
His claims of executive privilege being the reason not to testify before the committee don无毛视频檛 stand up to scrutiny.
After he originally agreed to appear before the committee, he sent it 9,000 pages of his texts and emails.
Plus, he was about to release his book, and he无毛视频檚 been all over right-wing television talking about his time in the White House.
He stopped just short of taking the word of his White House experiences door-to-door.
He无毛视频檚 most likely thrown any claims of 无毛视频減rivileged communications无毛视频� with Trump out the window.
And that was before the committee acted.
Committee members started releasing the contents of some of those 9,000 pages 无毛视频� as some sort of shot over the bow.
As the insurrection progressed on Jan. 6, those folks over at Fox News wanted to alert Meadows of the impending doom caused by the rioters.
Brian Kilmeade sent out a plea. 无毛视频淧lease get him (Trump) on TV. Destroying everything you have accomplished,无毛视频� he wrote in a text.
Sean Hannity said what millions of people were thinking while watching the events at the Capitol on their TVs.
无毛视频淐an he make a statement, ask people to leave the Capital,无毛视频� he said in a text to Meadows.
Another text, a more troubling one, came from Fox News superstar Laura Ingraham. 无毛视频淢ark, the President needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home. This is hurting all of us,无毛视频� wrote Ingraham.
You have to wonder what she meant when she wrote, 无毛视频淭his is hurting all of us.无毛视频�
Was she implying that the 无毛视频渦s无毛视频� meant that she was in league with the Trump administration?
Ingraham is the host of a TV show. She isn无毛视频檛 part of any governmental 无毛视频渦s,无毛视频� as far as I know.
But in July, Ingraham took the time on her show to downplay the severity of the insurrection.
无毛视频淭here was certainly a lot of violence. But it was not a terrorist attack. It wasn无毛视频檛 9/11. It wasn无毛视频檛 the worst thing that happened in America. It wasn无毛视频檛 an insurrection,无毛视频� she said as if she hadn无毛视频檛 sounded the alarm on Jan. 6.
After the release of the original text messages, committee members were going ahead with their move to hold Meadows in contempt for refusing to appear as requested.
And while holding their hearing, they also announced that amid the text messages from Fox News, they also found communications from members of Congress on that fateful day in January.
An embarrassing development. But not nearly the most embarrassing one.
That took place last Tuesday night when the members of the full House voted 222-208 to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress.
And Meadows caused it all.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.