ATLANTA — White House chief of staff Mark Meadows made a surprise visit Tuesday to observe Georgia’s audit of absentee ballot envelope signatures and ask questions about the process.
Meadows, accompanied by Secret Service agents, showed up at the Cobb County Civic Center, where investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and secretary of state’s office were reviewing absentee ballot envelopes to check whether voter signatures match those on file.
He met with Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs in a hallway to inquire about the signature audit and what it would find. He wasn’t permitted inside the room where investigators were examining ballot envelopes.
“I’m not making any allegations as much as I am trying to get to the truth,” Meadows was overheard saying.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has said the signature audit will restore confidence in Georgia’s elections and further dispel unsubstantiated fraud claims.
The audit, scheduled to be completed by next week, won’t change the outcome of Georgia’s election, which Democrat Joe Biden won by about 12,000 votes over Republican President Donald Trump.
“Chief of staff Mark Meadows made a visit here in Cobb County. He wanted to know the process of the signature match audit we’re currently conducting,” Fuchs said after their meeting. “He just asked basic process questions, wanted to know what exactly we were verifying.”
Meadows, who reports to Trump, didn’t speak about the reason for his visit. His office didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
