Mark Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff under Donald Trump, will not be facing criminal charges in North Carolina following an investigation into whether he committed voter fraud in the 2020 election.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein made the announcement on Friday, following an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation into Meadows’ registration and voting in the 2020 election.
“After a thorough review, my office has concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges against either of them in this matter,” Stein said in a statement.
The investigation began after The New Yorker published a report in March that showed Mark Meadows had registered to vote in North Carolina three weeks ahead of the state’s registration deadline using the address of a mobile home he did not own or live in at the time, which would appear to violate state law which requires a voting address be “where you physically live.”
However, Stein did take the opportunity to criticize Meadows for his involvement in trying to overturn the election, separate from the investigation into the voter fraud allegations against him.
Mark Meadows is also a key figure in the House January 6 Committee investigation, pushing the Justice Department to investigate conspiracy theories about election rigging after Trump’s loss, including an idea that Italian satellites were being used to hack voting machines remotely.
The decision not to press charges against Meadows may still be reopened if further evidence arises.
But this lack of prosecution might not sit well with Americans. Americans are rightfully scratching their heads knowing that if such circumstances involved an ordinary citizen, then charges would more than likely be brought. This announcement could reinforce the idea of two systems of justice in America. One for the rich and powerful, and another, much harsher and less forgiving for the rest of us.
