Former First Lady Melania Trump didn’t trust several allies of her husband's while he was running his first campaign, according to January 6 testimony.
Referencing a transcript of Trump’s former chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham during a sworn deposition before the House's January 6 select committee reveals that the first lady was “angered” that her husband would allow “harmful” people close access to him and their family.
Among those who Trump reportedly felt distrust of were former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
“She didn't trust Mark Meadows, was what [Melania Trump] told me," Grisham said to the committee, adding “she was wary of Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, a lot of the people who were coming up into the residence and talking to the president. And then I think she was like constantly wondering, and I know she got on the phone with [Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel] a few times to ask where are we with polling because I don't think she fully trusted the campaign necessarily.”
The distrust with Meadows stemmed from an incident where Meadows accused Trump of leaking a story to the press that the former president was relocated to a secret bunker during the riots in the summer of 2020.
When asked whether Trump had other reasons why she didn’t trust Meadows, to which Grisham replied saying “I know she was frustrated with his treatment of me, but I also know that she felt he was letting a lot of people who were maybe being harmful to the President, giving him bad advice.”
Grisham said that Trump felt that Meadows was playing into the hands of her husband by constantly telling him what he wants to hear rather than the truth of the reality of the situation.
This comes as the January 6 committee formally dropped President Trump’s subpoena as the investigation comes to an end.
“As you may know, the Select Committee has concluded its hearings, released its final report, and will very soon reach its end,” committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a letter to Trump’s lawyer. “In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena.”
In a tweet from Harmeet Dhillon, an attorney of Trump praised the committee for finally waving a “white flag.”
“We were confident of court victory, given precedent & refusal of prior presidents to testify in Congress,” Dhillon continued, adding “J6 committee wasted millions for a purely political witch-hunt, total abuse of process & power serving no legitimate legislative purpose.”