Mark Meadows was reportedly way more central to the Jan. 6 siege than previously known

Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, Mark Meadows
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In I Alone Can Fix It, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker's book on the final days of former President Donald Trump's time in office, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is portrayed as aghast at suggestions Trump just declare himself the winner of the election he lost.

But in fact Meadows was "a willing hub for conspiracy theories and false claims about the election" and "inextricably bound to the Jan. 6 attack, serving less as chief of staff than chief enabler to a president who was desperate to hold onto power," The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing interviews with former Trump allies and a 51-page report from the House Jan. 6 committee. The "central role" Meadows played in "Trump's efforts to overturn a democratic election is coming into focus as the congressional investigation into Jan. 6 gains traction," The New York Times agrees in a parallel report.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.