Mark Meadows pushed Italian satellite vote-changing theory: 'Meadows discussed it frequently'

ASHEVILLE — White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows pushed for an investigation into the idea Italian satellites changed votes in the U.S. election — one of several new revelations from Jan. 6 select committee hearings about the former Western North Carolina congressman as well as another notable figure with ties to the mountains.

The fifth day of the public hearings held June 23 focused on Trump's attempts to get Department of Justice officials to back his false election fraud claims in hopes of overturning the election of Joe Biden. The hearing also showed more links between Meadows and the plot as well as a connection to another WNC notable, Biltmore Forest resident and Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, whom it was shown Trump wanted to appoint to a special justice position.

Other news included that Meadows agreed to help elevate an attorney who backed false voter fraud claims to a Justice Department leadership role, despite lack of experience, and that Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz asked Meadows for a pardon.

The hearings are set to continue in July.

Meadows spokesperson Ben Williamson did not respond to a request for comment. Meadows turned over thousands of texts to the committee but later stopped cooperating and refused to testify. The House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress, but the DOJ declined to prosecute.

Previous coverage:

• January 6 hearing: Mark Meadows said he knew Mike Pence stopping certification was illegal

• Meadows: Send Georgia elections inspectors 's--tload of POTUS stuff': Jan. 6 committee

Satellite theory 'absurd'

Top Republican justice officials called the Italian satellite theory "absurd." But Meadows' pressure on the department and other officials led to unusual measures, according to committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican.

"Despite the absurdity of that conspiracy theory, we learned that Mr. Meadows discussed it frequently in the White House. And Mr. Meadows didn't let the matter go. The request went from the Department of Justice to the Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller," Kinzinger said.

"Secretary Miller actually reached out to a high ranking official based in Italy to follow up on this claim."

In a recording of a call, Miller talked about contacting the attaché in Italy to find out "what the heck is going on. Because I'm getting all these weird, crazy reports."

According to texts provided to the committee, a video about the conspiracy theory was sent by Rep. Scott Perry to Meadows on Dec. 31, six days before the deadly attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.

"Why can't we just work with the Italian government?" Perry texted Meadows.

Meadows sent the video to former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who testified before the committee with his acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue. Rosen said he asked for an opinion about the video from Donoghue, who told committee members it was "pure insanity."

Meadows then called Rosen asking him to meet with the person appearing in the video, a former intelligence officer named Brad Johnson. Rosen declined, saying Johnson could give any evidence to an FBI field office.

Meadows called again Jan. 1 saying Johnson was actually working with Trump campaign attorney Rudolph Giuliani, a prime promoter of false election fraud theories.

"Mr. Giuliani is really offended that you think they have to go to the FBI field office," Rosen said Meadows told him. "That's insulting. So couldn't you just have the FBI or you meet with these guys?"

Rosen told Meadows not to raise the question with him again.

Frustrated that justice officials were refusing to look into the claims — something already done by former Attorney General Bill Barr, who publicly said there was no evidence of serious voting issues — Trump backers sought to elevate a justice employee who would.

More on Meadows and voter fraud investigation:

• Mark Meadows removed from NC voter roll amid election fraud investigation

• Mark Meadows billed as voter fraud summit speaker; now he is subject of voter fraud probe

• Mark Meadows alleged voter fraud: Macon County voters skeptical of WH chief's home claim

Perry in late December texted Meadows asking him to promote Jeffrey Clark, an assistant attorney general with the environmental division who had no criminal trial experience but who agreed to advocate for Trump's voter fraud theories.

"Let me work on the deputy position," Meadows texted in response to multiple messages from Perry.

Trump at one point sought to oust Rosen and replace him with Clark but backed off after Rosen and his top deputies said they told the president that would lead to "mass resignations" in the Justice Department.

In another portion of the hearing, video testimony showed several members of Congress sought preemptive pardons for their roles in the plot. Gaetz was one, according to pre-recorded video testimony from John McEntee, former White House personnel director.

"He told me he asked Meadows for a pardon," McEntee said.

In previous hearings witnesses told committee members Meadows acknowledged that it was illegal to stop the Jan. 6 certification of votes, something Vice President Mike Pence refused to do while facing intense pressure from Trump and his supporters. The hearings also showed Meadows taking a hands-on role in attempting to influence Georgia officials to flip the state election results from Biden to Trump.

Elected in 2012 to the 11th District, Meadows represented WNC and part of Asheville until resigning in 2020 to work as Trump's top aide. During and after the last election, he frequently raised the prospect of voter fraud, casting doubt on Joe Biden's win. But Meadows is now facing a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation election fraud probe after records showed him using the address of a Macon County mobile home to vote though he never appeared to live there.

Powell as special counsel?

In a brief appearance on prerecorded video, Powell is seen talking about Trump's request that she join the DOJ as special counsel to look into elections. She apparently did not accept.

That was another attempt by Trump to influence the department whose officials refused to go along with his plans, committee members said.

"The select committee's investigation revealed that President Trump went as far as to promise the job of special counsel to now discredited former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, at a late night meeting on Dec. 18," Kinzinger said.

Powell did not respond to messages sent to email addresses listed as belonging to her.

"He had asked me to be special counsel to address the election issues and to collect evidence, and he was extremely frustrated with a lack of I would call law enforcement by any of the government agencies that are supposed to act to protect the rule of law and our republic," she said.

Powell was fined in federal court for filing a frivolous lawsuit challenging Michigan election results and was fined in Florida. She and her nonprofit are also being sued for $1.3 billion in a defamation case by a voting machine company she claimed engaged in election fraud. She is appealing the Michigan fine.

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: Jan. 6 committee: Meadows pushed Italian satellite vote switch theory