Here’s why Mark Meadows’ 'sob stories' fall horribly flat: conservative

In his book “The Chief’s Chief,” published in December 2021, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows tries to portray himself as a sympathetic figure — claiming that a deep love of God and country compelled him to ally himself with former President Donald Trump. But Never Trump conservative and CNN pundit Amanda Carpenter isn’t buying this depiction of Meadows as kindhearted, loving and altruistic. And in a biting but sometimes humorous article published by The Bulwark on February 9, Carpenter lays out some reasons why one shouldn’t feel sorry for Meadows or buy into his “sob stories.”

“Meadows’ willingness to adopt a slavish posture has served him well in the Trump era,” Carpenter explains. “But now, with the January 6 investigation fully underway, it’s not clear who his various sob stories are intended for…. As Trump’s right-hand man, Meadows was like the Holy Spirit of all Trump’s insane election schemes, the hidden hand that moved Trump’s ideas into action and tested the realms of presidential possibility — legally and otherwise. Quick tears and figurative knives may not be enough to save him this time.”

In December 2021, the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted — mostly along party lines — to recommend that Meadows be held in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to cooperate with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s select committee on the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Members of the House, of course, don’t actually have the power to criminally prosecute someone, but they recommended that the U.S. Department of Justice charge him.

“For all the attention he’s gotten for stonewalling the House Jan. 6th Committee,” Carpenters recalls, “it’s vital to remember Meadows did initially comply with the Committee’s request for his communications — just as hundreds of other people have done. Last fall, he turned over thousands of pages of information, including communications conducted over his non-official devices…. Meadows was scheduled for a deposition in which he was to answer questions about those communications, which, again, he willingly handed over. But Meadows changed course the day before the deposition. He told the committee he wasn’t coming after all.”

Carpenter goes on to explain why Meadows is hardly a sympathetic figure.

According to the Never Trumper — who formerly served as communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and was a speechwriter for Sen. Jim DeMint — “Meadows has every right to be worried…. In addition to knowledge of Trump’s dereliction of duty as a direct observer of Trump’s actions and inactions on January 6, Meadows was also perhaps the second-highest level participant, aside from Trump, in all of the most serious efforts to overturn the election…. He was also on the call where President Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ‘find the votes’ to flip the state’s election results.”

In “The Chief’s Chief,” Meadows isn’t shy about using Biblical references or flowery rhetoric when describing his interactions with Trump. He’s big on the “God, country and family” type of rhetoric. But Carpenter obviously doesn’t see him as anything other than a calculating, self-serving political opportunist.

When Meadows was a congressman back in 2013, Carpenter recalls, he tried to oust then-House Speaker John Boehner only to turn around and beg Boehner for forgiveness. Boehner was not impressed and said of that encounter, “I knew he was carrying a backpack full of knives, and sooner or later, he’d try to cut me again with them.”

Carpenter doesn’t believe that Meadows has changed a bit since then.

“For whatever it’s worth,” Carpenter writes, “Meadows already has plenty of tears and prayers ready on tap. They’re probably his best hope.”