'Tightrope': How Mark Meadows is trying to avoid prison without alienating Trump loyalists

So far, four of Donald Trump's co-defendants in Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference case have flipped on the former president and agreed to fully cooperate with Willis' office in exchange for avoiding jail or prison. But former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows isn't one of them.

On one hand, Meadows obviously doesn't want to end up in a Georgia state prison. But on the other hand, the former Tea Party congressman doesn't want to offend Trump supporters.

In an article published by CNN on October 27, reporters Alayna Treene, Marshall Cohen, Katelyn Polantz and Kristen Holmes describe the "tightrope" that Meadows has been walking by "trying to strike a careful balance of complying with federal investigators who are using his testimony to prosecute Trump, while not crossing any red lines that would jeopardize his influential political relationships with congressional Republicans."

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"That balancing act was on full display Tuesday night," the reporters explain. "Hours after an ABC News report that Meadows had been granted immunity and met multiple times with special counsel Jack Smith's team, Meadows was spotted at a right-wing gala in Washington, DC, mingling with well-connected Republicans, according to two people in attendance. Meadows provided information to federal investigators in both the 2020 election subversion and the classified documents investigations after receiving immunity to comply with a subpoena, sources familiar with the matter told CNN."

The journalists note that Meadows "didn't get blanket immunity but instead, received assurances he wouldn’t be prosecuted for what he shared with investigators, the sources said." Treene, Cohen, Polantz and Holmes add, however, that Meadows' "clout within pro-Trump circles could be threatened if Republicans suspect that he turned on the former president."

A source described by the reporters as someone "close to" Meadows told CNN, "He's just trying to be a good faith operator and work with them. That doesn't mean that he's selling anybody out or flipping."

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Read CNN's full report at this link.