Ex-Trump staffer, Western NC congressman Mark Meadows moves to dismiss publisher's suit

One-time Western North Carolina congressman and ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has responded to a lawsuit by his publisher, saying claims that he lied in his book about election results are "conjecture" and that the case should be dismissed.

"Plaintiff’s lawsuit is an unveiled attempt to utilize the court system to recover investment funds on a book deal that was not as profitable as hoped. Courts are not the proper forum for disgruntled investors to try to recover funds on business deals that do not go as planned," said Meadows' Jan. 3 response to the lawsuit by All Seasons Press.

All Seasons, a conservative publisher selling books by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and a sidekick of radio icon Rush Limbaugh, sued Nov. 3 for breach of contract in Sarasota County Circuit Court in Florida.

All Seasons said Meadows in the "The Chief's Chief" wrote that President Donald Trump was the true winner of the 2020 election that was "stolen" and "rigged" ― but in statements he made later in exchange for immunity from prosecution Meadows said things that "squarely contradict" the 2021 book, the lawsuit said, citing media reports from September alleging that Meadows knew Trump had lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Elected in 2012, the Republican Meadows served four terms representing the 11th District, which included western parts of Asheville. A founder of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, he became Trump's chief of staff in 2020. He now lives in Pickens County, South Carolina.

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All Seasons says Meadows should return the $350,000 advance for the book, pay for $600,000 in the publisher's out-of-pocket damages and pay at least $1 million each for reputational harm it suffered and expected profit losses on the book, which All Seasons say plunged after Meadows' numerous criminal and civil cases.

“The Chief’s Chief” has sold around 23,000 copies, according to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the print market. Most of those sales came in 2021, when the book came out. All Seasons says it sold approximately 60,000 copies out of a printing of 200,000.

In the motion to dismiss, the attorneys say the complaint "is based on nothing more than hearsay media reports ― unsubstantiated and disputed media reports ― which speculate that Defendant, in aconfidential hearing, may have testified in such a way that allegedly conflicts with isolatedstatements in a book published two years prior to the confidential hearing."

"With the complaint based on conjecture, Plaintiff claims that it is due substantial sums of money," the motion says.

Among the attorneys defending Meadows is his son, Blake Meadows.

ABC News reported in September that Meadows told special counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors "he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump's prolific rhetoric regarding the election."

After the ABC report, Trump on Oct. 25 targeted Meadows, suggesting his ex-chief of staff would be a weakling and a coward if he testifies against him.

In a pair of Truth Social posts, Trump said he doesn't believe Meadows would turn on him, but noted his former chief of staff has been threatened with prosecution and might be tempted by an immunity agreement.

Meadows has pleaded not guilty to charges in Georgia for trying to overturn the state’s election results in 2020. An appeals court in December ruled against his attempt to move the case to a federal court.

After leaving the White House, Meadows drew scrutiny for having registered to vote using the address of a Macon County single-wide mobile home where he apparently never lived or visited. He was cleared of election fraud following a State Bureau of Investigation probe and continues to be associated with conservative groups pushing so-called election integrity efforts whose genesis is false claims made by Trump and others about election fraud.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Ex-Trump staffer, Western NC Rep. Meadows: dismiss my publisher's suit