WASHINGTON — Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Meadows received the subpoena in late January, the person said, as special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation escalated his probe into steps Trump and his allies took to keep him in office. As Trump’s final White House chief of staff, Meadows would be among the closest advisers of the former president to be summoned before the grand jury.
The demand for his testimony predated a separate subpoena issued to former Vice President Mike Pence as part of the investigation. Two top aides to Pence — his former chief of staff Marc Short and counsel Greg Jacob — are among the former Trump administration officials who have already appeared before the grand jury.
The subpoena for Meadows could set the stage for further court battles between prosecutors and Trump, whose lawyers have cited executive privilege in attempts to block or delay the testimony of top aides in investigations examining the former president. Pence plans to resist his subpoena by arguing that, as vice president, he served also as president of the Senate and is covered by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause, which protects members of Congress from being questioned in court about legislative acts.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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