Mark Meadows must testify in 2020 election investigation, judge rules

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been ordered by a South Carolina judge to testify before a jury in Atlanta for an investigation into efforts to reverse the 2020 presidential election, The Washington Post reports.

Meadows had reportedly been avoiding appearing before the special grand jury investigating Georgia election interference, writes The New York Times. The inquiry examines "the multistate, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the Nov. 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere," according to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. She filed a petition to subpoena Meadows back in August, which was approved on Wednesday by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edward Miller.

James Bannister, Meadows' attorney, first said that they would be appealing the ruling, however, he later posted a statement saying they were "looking into legal options" and that it is "inappropriate to comment further" until the judge sends a written order, Politico reports.

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Meadows originally served four terms as a South Carolina congressmember before becoming Trump's chief of staff, the Post recalls. Meadows has been heavily involved in attempting to keep former President Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election and was also deemed to have played a significant role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. While he resides in South Carolina, he registered to vote in North Carolina fraudulently during the 2020 election by using the address of a mobile home.

Ultimately, Miller ruled that Meadows' testimony is "material and necessary to the investigation."